2019 coronavirus: The Korean clusters

2019 coronavirus: The Korean clusters

8,162 cases
Jan 20
Mar 15
The Korean clusters

How coronavirus cases exploded in South Korean churches and hospitals

Updated March 3, 2020

South Korea has announced hundreds of new coronavirus cases in the space of only a few days and raised its infectious disease alert to the highest level. The surge in cases has centred around two main clusters from a church in Daegu city and a nearby hospital. The new outbreak has pushed South Korea’s tally of confirmed cases much higher than anywhere else outside of China.

The virus was first confirmed in the country on Jan. 20 when a 35-year-old Chinese woman who flew from Wuhan, China to Incheon international airport, which serves Seoul, was isolated upon entry into the country. In the four weeks following the incident, South Korea managed to avoid a major outbreak with only 30 people contracting the virus, despite many interactions between those later confirmed as being sick and hundreds more people being identified as contacts of the sick patients.

This changed with the emergence of “Patient 31.”

Connections between

the confirmed cases

Case

number

Traced

contacts

#1

Initial cases

traveled from

Wuhan

#2

#3

95

First to catch

the virus

locally

#6

422

Many of the cases

had some form

of contact

with another

Married

450

Family

Married

1,160

Many of the cases

had some form of contact

with another

Initial cases

traveled from

Wuhan

First to catch

the virus

locally

Family

Married

Married

#1

#2

#3

#6

#31

Case

number

95

422

450

Traced contacts

1,160

Connections between

the confirmed cases

Case

number

Traced contacts

#1

Most of the initial cases

had traveled from Wuhan.

#2

#3

Patient #6 was the first

to catch the virus locally.

He also had contact

with four other cases.

#6

422 contacts

Married

Many of the cases

had some form of contact

with another

450 contacts

Family

#28

#29

Married

#30

1,160 contacts

This patient had by far the most contacts initially traced

by the Korean Center for Disease Control

Connections

between the

confirmed cases

Case

number

Traced contacts

#1

Initial cases

traveled from

Wuhan

#2

#3

95

First to catch

the virus

locally

#6

422

Married

450

Family

Married

1,160

Connections between

the confirmed cases

Case

number

Traced contacts

#1

Most of the initial cases

had traveled from Wuhan

#2

#3

Patient #6 was the first

to catch the virus locally.

He also had contact

with four other cases.

#6

422 contacts

Married

Many of the cases

had some form of contact

with another

450 contacts

Family

#28

#29

Married

#30

1,160 contacts

This patient had by far the most contacts initially traced

by the Korean Center for Disease Control

Patient 31

It’s not clear where Patient 31 became infected with the virus, but in the days before her diagnosis, she travelled to crowded spots in Daegu, as well as in the capital Seoul. On February 6 she was in a minor traffic accident in Daegu, and checked herself into an Oriental medicine hospital. While at that hospital, she attended services at the Daegu branch of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, on February 9 and again on February 16.

In between those visits, on February 15, doctors at the hospital said they first suggested she be tested for the coronavirus, as she had a high fever. Instead, the woman went to a buffet lunch with a friend at a hotel. In an interview with local newspaper JoongAng Ilbo, the woman denied that doctors had advised her to be tested. As her symptoms worsened, however, doctors say they once again advised her to be tested. On February 17, she finally went to another hospital for the test. The next day, health authorities announced she was the country’s 31st confirmed case. In only a matter of days, those numbers had soared as hundreds of people at the Shincheonji Church and surrounding areas tested positive.

Jan 29

Visits “C-Club” in Gangnam, Seoul,

identified by local media as a company

with links to Shincheonji church.

Feb. 6 - 10.30pm

Car accident

After visiting the C-Club office in Daegu.

She was hospitalized the next day

HOSPITALIZED

Drives home

Gets personal items

and returns to

hospital

Time spent at

SHINCHEONJI

CHURCH

Feb. 9

Attends church

Stays for two hours

Develops

fever

Feb. 15

Buffet at a hotel

Travels by taxi to

lunch with a friend

at Queen Vell Hotel

Feb. 16

Attends church

Feb. 17

Public clinic

Visits in a taxi to

get tested

Transferred

Tests positive

Daegu

Medical

Center

Feb. 18

Announced

as case #31

Jan 29

Visits “C-Club” in Gangnam, Seoul,

identified by local media as a company

with links to Shincheonji church.

Feb.

03

Time spent at

Saeronan Oriental

Medicine Hospital

Feb. 6

Car accident

After visiting

the C-Club

office in

Daegu

Drives home

Gets personal items

before returning to

hospital

Hospitalized

the following day

Time spent at

SHINCHEONJI

CHURCH

Feb. 9 - 7.30am

Attends church

Stays for two

hours

Develops

fever

Feb.

10

Feb. 15

Buffet at a hotel

Travels by taxi to

lunch with a friend

at Queen Vell Hotel

Feb.

15

Transferred

Feb. 17

Public clinic

Visits in a taxi to

get tested

Tests positive

Daegu

Medical

Center

Feb. 18

Announced

as case #31

Jan 29

Visits “C-Club” in Gangnam, Seoul,

identified by local media as a company

with links to Shincheonji church.

Time spent at

Saeronan Oriental

Medicine Hospital

Feb. 5

Drives home

Gets personal items

before returning to

hospital

Hospitalized

the following day

Feb. 9

Attends church

Stays for two

hours

Develops

fever

Feb. 10

Feb. 15

Buffet at a hotel

Travels by taxi to

lunch with a friend

at Queen Vell Hotel

Feb. 15

Attends church

Stays for two

hours

Transferred

Feb. 17

Public clinic

Visits in a taxi to

get tested

Tests positive

Daegu

Medical

Center

Feb. 18

Announced

as case #31

Feb.

5

Feb.

10

Feb.

15

Jan 29

Visits “C-Club” in

Gangnam, Seoul, identified by

local media as a company with

links to Shincheonji church.

Feb. 6 - 10.30pm

Car accident

After visiting the

C-Club office in Daegu

Daegu

Medical

Center

Tests

positive

Develops

fever

Transferred

Time spent at

Saeronan Oriental

Medicine Hospital

Hospitalized

the following

day

Announced

as case #31

Drives home

Gets personal items

before returning to

hospital

Feb. 15

Buffet at a hotel

Takes taxi to lunch with a

friend at Queen Vell Hotel

Feb.17

Public clinic

Visits in a taxi to

get tested

Time spent at

SHINCHEONJI

CHURCH

Feb. 9 - 7.30am

Attends church

Stays for two hours

Attends church

Stays for two hours

Jan. 29

Feb. 1

Feb. 5

Feb. 10

Feb. 15

Jan 29

Visits “C-Club” in

Gangnam, Seoul, identified by

local media as a company with

links to Shincheonji church.

Feb. 6 - 10.30pm

Car accident

After visiting the

C-Club office in Daegu

Daegu

Medical Center

Tests

positive

Transferred

Hospitalized

the following day

Develops fever

Time spent at

Saeronan Oriental

Medicine Hospital

Announced

as case #31

Drives home

Gets personal items

before returning to

hospital

Buffet at a hotel

Travels by taxi to lunch with

a friend at Queen Vell Hotel

from 10.30 to 12.00

Public clinic

Visits in a taxi to get

tested around 3.30pm

Feb. 9 - 7.30am

Attends church

Stays for two hours

Time spent at

SHINCHEONJI CHURCH

Attends church

Stays for two hours

The Korea Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (KCDC) said on Saturday they had obtained a list of 9,300 people who had attended those two Shincheonji church services, around 1,200 of whom had complained of flu-like symptoms. Hundreds of cases have now been confirmed there.

A second major cluster emerged from a nearby hospital in Cheongdo, a county close to Daegu. Authorities are investigating links between the church in Daegu and a funeral service at the hospital, which a number of church members attended from January 31-February 2. If confirmed, it means Patient 31 could be linked to both clusters. Between Daegu and Cheongdo county, the areas account for around 80 percent of the cases in the entire country.

Authorities are still investigating how Patient 31 contracted the virus, having no recent record of overseas travel or earlier known contact with other confirmed cases.

Cases by cluster as of March 2

Shincheonji church

2418

Authorities are

investigating a possible

connection

Imported

Cheongdo Daenam

Hospital

119

Busan Onchun Church

Others

Shincheonji church

2418

Authorities are

investigating a possible

connection

Imported

Cheongdo Daenam

Hospital

119

Busan Onchun Church

Others

Shincheonji church

2418

Authorities are

investigating a possible

connection

Imported

Cheongdo Daenam

Hospital

119

Busan Onchun Church

Others

Shincheonji church

2418

Authorities are

investigating a possible

connection

Imported

Cheongdo Daenam

Hospital

119

Busan Onchun

Church

Others

Almost all major cities and provinces have now reported some infections. However, Daegu, where the church is located, and nearby Gyeongbuk, where the hospital is located, have by far the most cases. Seoul, a metropolitan area of more than 25 million people, has only a small portion.

Cases by region as of March 3

NORTH KOREA

Gangwon

Seoul

98

Incheon

SOUTH KOREA

Gyeonggi

Chungbuk

Chungnam

Sejong

Gyeongbuk

685

Daejeon

Daegu

3601

Cheonbuk

Ulsan

Busan

Gyeongnam

Gwangju

Cheonnam

Jeju

40km

NORTH KOREA

Gangwon

Seoul

98

Incheon

SOUTH KOREA

Gyeonggi

Chungbuk

Chungnam

Sejong

Gyeongbuk

685

Daejeon

Daegu

3601

Cheonbuk

Ulsan

Busan

Gyeongnam

Gwangju

Cheonnam

JAPAN

Jeju

40km

NORTH KOREA

Gangwon

Seoul

98

Incheon

SOUTH KOREA

Gyeonggi

Chungbuk

Chungnam

Sejong

Gyeongbuk

685

Daejeon

Daegu

3601

Cheonbuk

Ulsan

Busan

Gyeongnam

Gwangju

Cheonnam

JAPAN

Jeju

40km

NORTH KOREA

Gangwon

Seoul

98

Incheon

SOUTH KOREA

Gyeonggi

Chungbuk

Chungnam

Sejong

Gyeongbuk

685

Daejeon

Daegu

3601

Cheonbuk

Ulsan

Gyeongnam

Gwangju

Busan

Cheonnam

Jeju

40km

“The coronavirus is more contagious and spreads quickly during the early stage of the outbreak, and therefore preemptive measures are needed considering a possibility that the virus could develop to a nationwide spread from a community spread,” health minister Park Neung-hoo told a news conference.

“We believe the next week to 10 days will be crucial to determining how far the coronavirus spreads.”

Sources: Korea Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (KCDC); Reuters.
By Marco Hernandez, Simon Scarr and Manas Sharma
Additional reporting and editing by Josh Smith and Raju Gopalakrishnan.