It looks like the churches in the Seoul region are being given a warning before they will likely be shutdown like the clubs in Seoul were:
This photo, taken June 1, 2020, shows a church in Incheon, west of Seoul, where cluster infections of the new coronavirus were reported. (Yonhap)
Cluster infections at churches are again putting health authorities on edge Monday following a series of mass infections tied to clubs and a distribution center after the country eased social distancing and millions of students went back to schools.
South Korea reported 35 additional cases of the new coronavirus, including 30 local infections, raising the total caseload to 11,503, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).
Monday’s tally marked a slight rise from 27 identified the previous day. But the daily number of new cases appears to be on a downward trend after hitting a nearly two-month high of 75 on Thursday.
In yet another alarming sign of further spread in the Seoul metropolitan area, 23 cases have been traced to 13 small churches in Incheon, west of Seoul, and Gyeonggi Province that surrounds the capital.
As I predicted church services in South Korea are now being effected by the spread of the coronavirus linked to a church in Daegu:
Quarantine officials disinfect the Daegu branch of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony, on Feb. 20, 2020. (Yonhap)
Consequently, South Korean religious communities have been seeking preventive measures as there have been growing fears about religious events in large churches and temples that can become a focal point of infections.
The Catholic Archdiocese of Daegu has suspended all Masses held by churches, institutions and schools in the diocese for two weeks until March 5.
It is the first time that a Catholic diocese has decided not to hold Masses since the first outbreak was reported in South Korea on Jan. 20.
A church in central Seoul was closed for about two weeks earlier this month as one of its believers was confirmed to be infected with the coronavirus.
However, few Protestant and Catholic churches or Buddhist temples have actually rescheduled or reduced their services or events despite the rapid spread of the virus.
