[사회]’Meet without a mask and sing’ captured again … Is it okay to ease the church rules?

[앵커]

On holidays, a church was rediscovered, celebrating face-to-face worship while singing hymns without wearing a mask.

As the measure of distancing moves down to the first stage, the relaxed rules apply to churches, but concerns remain about whether foot infections in churches are spreading again.

This is reporter Jung Hyun-woo.

[기자]

A church in Songpa-gu, Seoul.

More than 60 believers sit in the 160-seat chapel.

You can also see them sitting together, but none of the parishioners and pastors singing hymns wear masks.

The limit of less than 30 people is also violated and all windows are closed.

It is a small church on the fourth floor of a shopping center.

At the entrance, you can enter the worship service without proof of fever and hand disinfection.

Even in the downstairs kitchen, the members were preparing meals to eat together.

[A 교회 관계자 : (지난번에도 똑같으셨는데 지켜야 되는 것 아닌가요?) 구청에 오신 분들께 말씀을 드렸으니까 거기서 물어보세요.]

This church was ordered to ban gatherings two weeks ago.

Last week, more than 50 people gathered and held a service without masks, and were charged by the police.

[A 교회 교인 : (마스크를 쓰셔야 하는데 안 쓰는 게 걱정되지 않으세요?) 별로 걱정은 안 되는데….]

In this way, there are still churches that practice worship without ignoring the rules.

In the Seoul area alone, 3 churches were found on the 4th and 6th on the 27th of last month.

[이철균 / 송파구청 문화체육과 직원 : 이 교회 같은 경우엔 아까 말씀드린 거리 두기나 마스크 착용도 안 되는데 소모임이나 식사 제공도 강행하는 교회입니다.]

In the midst of this, as social distancing descends to stage one, the relaxed rules also apply to metropolitan area churches.

Face-to-face worship is fully allowed, but the number of seats is limited to 30% of the number of seats in the chapel, and meals or consumption is prohibited.

The churches responded that the guidelines should have been relaxed from the start,

[유병용 / 서울 송파구 브니엘 교회 담임 목사 : 보편적으로 정상적인 교회는 방역에 앞장서 왔고 건전하고 청결한 곳에는 언제나 소모임도 앞으로 방역조치 완화되면 교회에는 허용할 수 있는….]

There are also concerns about whether the church foot infection will spread again.

[송파구 주민 : 교회뿐만 아니더라도 집단행동은 절제하는 게 좋지 않겠나. 완화에 대해서는 절대 안 되죠. 왜냐면 앞으로 위험한 시기잖아요. 시기·계절적으로 겨울이 되면 위험하기 때문에….]

The city of Seoul plans to continue conducting weekly on-site inspections, as there is a possibility that compliance with the rules will be compromised as the guidelines are relaxed.

YTN Jeong Hyun-woo[[email protected]]is.

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