INCREASE IN COVID-19 CASES FROM CHURCHES

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COVID-19 cases that started at a church in Goyang, Gyeonggi-do Province have led to a chain of infections in other churches in Seoul and surrounding areas. Public health authorities have asked for the churches' cooperation while seeking ways to toughen disease control measures for some areas if the virus continues to spread.

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​Banseok Church in Goyang, Gyeonggi-do Province. It's where new COVID-19 cases were confirmed. The infection spread to seven merchants in Kennedy Mall in Seoul's iconic Namdaemun Market. One of those merchants met with another store owner from the nearby Jungang Mall, causing tertiary transmission. Another church member, a childcare center instructor, spread the virus to a student, who then passed it on to family members and their acquaintance. As of noon August 11th, 33 confirmed cases were traced back to the church. A special test site was set up at Namdaemun market. Authorities believe people in Kennedy Mall were probably exposed to the virus between July 30th and August 8th... Those in Jungang Mall, between August 8th and 9th.

[Soundbite] KWON JUN-WOOK(KOREA CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION) : "Merchants or visitors who were at the malls where confirmed cases were found during the probable exposure period should be tested at nearby clinics or testing sites when symptomatic."

One additional case related to Rejoice 153 Church in Goyang and four more cases related to The Lord's Spring Presbyterian Church in Gimpo were reported. In the wake of cluster outbreaks in churches, the United Christian Churches of Korea, the country's largest union of Protestant churches, asked its members to follow the disease control guidelines more strictly. Public health authorities also repeatedly asked churches to avoid having group meals or small gatherings. They added that disease control measures may be toughened for some areas if infections continue to spread.