COVID-19 Victims' Families Say, "If They Had Said Shincheonji, We Might Have Seen Mom's Face"

On the afternoon of the 23rd of last month, when a large number of new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) confirmed patients were transferred to Keimyung University Daegu Dongsan Hospital in Jung-gu, Daegu, medical staff were sitting and resting briefly before receiving the next confirmed patient. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ga-yeon] The family of a confirmed COVID-19 patient who died due to not receiving timely treatment expressed their frustration, saying, "If only we had said she was a Shincheonji member or had visited China, we might have had a chance to see mom's face."

A, who identified herself as the daughter of the 14th deceased, said in an interview with CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show' on the 2nd, "Human lives are more important than lying and being punished," explaining the situation.

A explained, "My mother usually had a cough, but on that day (the 22nd of last month), it got worse," and added, "On Tuesday, since there was no improvement even after taking medicine, I called 1339 just in case."

She said, "When I called the public health center, the first question was whether she had visited China. When I said no, they asked if she was a Shincheonji member or a contact person," and added, "They said if none of these three applied, she couldn't get tested."

A stated that she had fully informed the health center that her mother was a 70-year-old elderly person with underlying conditions, but "They said if there was no fever, it wasn't COVID-19. Trusting that, we just stayed put."

She continued, "When the situation worsened, on the 27th, we went to a general hospital. Since there was no fever, we thought they wouldn't treat her, so we just went to a general hospital, but the hospital told us to go to the health center because she had a fever," and added, "Since she didn't meet the criteria of being a Shincheonji member or having visited China, they told us there were too many waiting patients and to go home and take fever reducers."

She said, "(Since the health center said no) we went to Daegu Medical Center, got a COVID-19 test and a chest X-ray. It showed signs of pneumonia," and added, "The doctor said there were no beds available at the hospital and sent her back. The next day, my mother passed away."

She lamented, "I couldn't even properly see my mom's face. Although the test results weren't out yet, since it was a suspected COVID-19 case," she said, "I could only see her face for 2-3 seconds through the door gap."

The 14th deceased, B (70, female), died in self-quarantine on the 28th of last month. At that time, B was reportedly awaiting the results of a COVID-19 test. B showed symptoms such as difficulty breathing and was urgently transferred to the emergency room of Daegu Catholic University Hospital but passed away.

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