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
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.