Shincheonji Followers Reach 215,000, Largest Infection Survey Ever... Prolonged Battle Expected

Exponential Surge in High-Risk Groups When Investigating Family and Close Contacts
From Sample Collection to Treatment... Medical Staff Shortage Crisis Inevitable
Reluctant Adherence to Quarantine Measures by Shincheonji Followers, Concealment and Non-Cooperation Also Obstacles

On the 24th, a responsible official at Seongnam City On Church in Gyeonggi-do is posting a closure notice in accordance with the enforcement of the "Shincheonji Assembly Total Ban and Facility Forced Closure Gyeonggi-do Emergency Administrative Order." [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghoon Jeong] The comprehensive survey on the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) targeting all Shincheonji Church of Jesus believers is expected to be the largest-scale test among infectious disease cases. Quarantine measures are also likely to be implemented nationwide. Accordingly, the survey of more than 215,000 Shincheonji believers may face several challenges such as a long duration, shortage of medical personnel, and individual non-cooperation.

◆ If the high-risk group increases, the survey is expected to take a long time = The survey of more than 210,000 believers is expected to take a considerable amount of time. The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention plans to first conduct COVID-19 specimen testing on the "high-risk believers" who visited the Daegu church in January and February this year. Among the 9,336 Shincheonji Daegu church members identified so far, 1,193 are symptomatic. In addition, a significant number of believers from other regions are expected to have visited the Daegu church. Cases of believers residing in Gwangju, Gyeongbuk, and Gyeongnam attending worship at the Daegu church on the 16th of this month and becoming infected have already been reported.

If the survey scope is expanded to include family members and acquaintances who had contact with them, the number of people to be surveyed will increase exponentially. The time required for the full survey will vary depending on how many high-risk believers are among the entire list of believers. Daegu Mayor Kwon Young-jin expressed concern at a briefing the day before, stating, "If specimen testing for suspected symptomatic Shincheonji Daegu church members intensifies, there is a risk of a sharp increase in the number of patients." Professor Eom Jung-sik of the Department of Infectious Diseases at Gil Hospital said, "The urgent task is to apply the high-risk believers' list to the ITS (International Travel History Information System). It is necessary to identify which patients are high-risk believers and adjust the medical approach accordingly. This is the way to prevent hospital infections and enable hospitals to respond quickly."

◆ Concerns over severe shortage of medical personnel for specimen collection and treatment = A shortage of medical personnel is also expected due to the large-scale survey. Once the list of believers is secured, the government plans to immediately distribute it to public health centers and local governments nationwide to start COVID-19 surveys targeting believers residing in their jurisdictions. However, as the spread of COVID-19 becomes apparent nationwide, difficulties due to medical personnel shortages are inevitable. The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCH) began recruiting medical personnel to volunteer for early diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19 in the Daegu area the day before. Professor Eom said, "Depending on the number of high-risk believers, a shortage of medical personnel may occur nationwide."

◆ What if believers deny their affiliation or are uncooperative? = Individual non-cooperation by believers is also an obstacle. Although the Shincheonji church requested cooperation from believers along with providing the list, Shincheonji believers have so far responded passively or uncooperatively to quarantine measures. A representative example is a staff member who was in charge of infection prevention at the Seo-gu Public Health Center in Daegu but concealed being a Shincheonji believer while working and was later confirmed positive. The police plan to deploy law enforcement for believers who are uncooperative or whose whereabouts are unknown. To track 242 Daegu Shincheonji believers who cannot be contacted, the Daegu Metropolitan Police Agency deployed 618 officers.

Concerns about trainees excluded from the Shincheonji believer list are also difficult to dismiss. The Shincheonji side stated, "Trainees are prospective believers at the branch level, so the central organization cannot secure their list," and "Each branch will guide trainees to get tested if they have symptoms or have visited the Daegu area." However, since these individuals have actually frequented Shincheonji churches or religious facilities, the possibility of spread caused by them cannot be ignored.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.