South Korea Imposes Strict Measures To Stem Spread Of Coronavirus

De CidesaWiki

SEOUL, KOREA, REPUBLIC OF -- South Korea outbreak Korea is banning large gatherings, closing beaches, shutting nightspots and churches and removing fans from professional sports in strict new measures announced Saturday as it battles the spread of the coronavirus. Health Minister Park Neung-hoo announced the steps shortly after the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 332 new cases -- the ninth straight day of triple-digit increases. The national caseload is now at 17,002, including 309 deaths. The government had already imposed elevated social distancing measures in Seoul this week after resisting them for months out of economic concerns.

Sarang Jeil Church pastor Jun Kwang-hun was hospitalized with COVID-19 on Monday after participating in an anti-government protest last week where he shared a microphone on stage with other activists. More than 100 infections have been tied to protesters. Police raided the church late Friday while trying to secure a more comprehensive list of its members who remain out of contact. Health workers have used cellphone location data to identify some 50,000 people who spent more than 30 minutes on the street during the protest last Saturday and have been alerting them to get tested.

Kwon Jun-wook, deputy director of the Central Disease Control Headquarters, this week described South Korea as being "on a precipice" and that the coronavirus spread tied to Sarang Jeil Church is a "much bigger crisis" than that in Daegu. Sarang Jeil Church's main pastor, Jun Gwang-hoon, tested positive for coronavirus this week. Jun has long been a thorn in the side of the Moon administration. For months, he has given sermons in which he lambasted the president, making unsubstantiated claims that Moon is a North Korean spy working covertly to destroy South Korean democracy.