“Remember Shincheonji…” Daegu church group infection that worries citizens

“On Sundays, when the worship service is held, there are no big fluctuations because most of the merchants do not work. There are not many stores outside the factory. “

A man who runs an auto repair shop near Daegu Jesus Center Church in Jungri-dong, Seo-gu, Daegu, where many confirmed cases of novel coronavirus (Corona 19) infection occurred, said: “I did not know a lot about this church until I saw the news that the confirmed person came out of the closet. ” said.

According to Daegu City on the 30th, there were a total of 19 confirmed cases related to Daegu Center Jesus Church. Of these, 17 church members were identified and the remaining two were identified as contacts.

The first confirmed cases related to the church came out on the 27th. A woman in her 80s living in Dong-gu, Daegu, tested positive. Once the first stage of social distancing was alleviated, local, church-focused infections appeared one after another. The parking lot was empty and the entrances to the chapel and office were securely locked by quarantine authorities to prevent infectious diseases.

There were traces of attempts to follow the quarantine rules at various locations within the building peering through the cracks in the door.

In addition to putting up posters from quarantine authorities promoting social distancing, there was also an advisory on the use of hand sanitizers.

A pen and paper, which appeared to have written a list of visitors, were also placed to one side of the entrance.

The church is located in a general industrial complex in Seodaegu, and it is far from residential areas or downtown. Because of this, neighboring citizens are also relatively shy.

A man who runs a tool shop near the church said: “In the past, buses lined the street in front of the shop every Saturday and Sunday, making it difficult to operate. It seems that it was a bus that brought believers from all over. “But recently, it seems like they only come to worship on Sundays.”

“There are many furniture stores and factories in this area, and most of them close at 6pm. Also, it is not necessary to see the believers because they are closed every Sunday. We don’t have to worry about corona 19 infection. “

Convenience stores, where people frequently come and go, did not express much concern.

A man who works part-time at a convenience store said, “I’m not sure why I don’t work on weekends, but other employees or bosses haven’t paid special attention to the church.” “Because all the guests wear masks and respond with a certain distance.” I think he’ll be fine “.

Some local residents were also concerned that this church infection would spread to the “second Shincheonji church crisis.”

Kim Mo (29), an office worker living in Pyeongri-dong, Seo-gu, said: “If the infection spreads, the social distancing stage will go up again and it will put a burden on the self-employed,” he said.

Meanwhile, quarantine authorities confirmed that the first person confirmed at Daegu Jesus Center Church attended a small group of churches, obtained a list of 398 believers and was inspected for infection.