Seoul City Deploys Over 40 Immediate Response Team Members to Guro Manmin Church After 22 Confirmed Cases

Securing the Attendance List for Worship Services in February and March and Sending Notification Messages

On the 29th, the entrance to Manmin Central Church in Guro-gu, Seoul, was closed. Guro-gu closed the church on the 27th due to a surge in confirmed cases of COVID-19 related to Manmin Central Church, and plans to adjust the closure period based on test results. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced on the 29th that it has deployed an immediate response team since the 27th and is conducting testing and management of worshippers and contacts in relation to the 22 confirmed COVID-19 cases at Guro-gu Manmin Central Holiness Church.

Since the first confirmed case at this church on the 25th of this month, a total of 22 people have tested positive for COVID-19, including 8 pastors and church staff, 9 general worshippers, and 5 family members and acquaintances. The city identified the main movement paths through epidemiological investigations as Guro-gu Manmin Church, the church residence in Dongjak-gu, and the workplace of a confirmed case in Geumcheon-gu, and is conducting comprehensive epidemiological investigations and contact management centered on these three districts.

The city explained that immediately after the first confirmed case, the church in Guro-gu and the underground prayer room in the Dongjak-gu church residence were completely closed and disinfected. Subsequently, to facilitate rapid epidemiological investigations and contact management, a 'Cluster Immediate Response Team' of about 40 members was formed, and on-site situation rooms have been established and operated at the health centers in Guro-gu and Geumcheon-gu.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government's Cluster Immediate Response Team is operating with on-site support officers, a general team, an epidemiological investigation team, and a contact management team, conducting epidemiological investigations of confirmed cases, assessing risk factors, and preparing contact management plans.

Although Guro-gu Manmin Church has been conducting all services online since the 6th of this month, it was confirmed that staff and some worshippers gathered for service filming. All contacts identified so far are currently under self-quarantine.

Additionally, among 56 employees tested at a company located in Geumcheon-gu, where one confirmed Manmin Church case works, 1 tested positive and 55 tested negative.

Earlier, on March 5th, among 70 attendees at a service at Jeonnam Muan Manmin Central Holiness Church, 3 have tested positive, and the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency is investigating the infection routes together with local authorities.

The city has secured the full list of worshippers who attended services in February and March, sent notification messages, and is conducting further investigations.

Furthermore, through the Cluster Immediate Response Team, a three-stage response strategy has been established: preventing spread → blocking infection transmission → strengthening quarantine to prevent recurrence, with step-by-step measures being implemented.

Mayor Park Won-soon stated, "As confirmed cases are increasing centered on Guro-gu Manmin Central Holiness Church, we will mobilize all possible means to prevent the spread of infection to the local community. While most churches are cooperating well with social distancing measures such as online services, the risk of infection increases when worshippers gather, so we strongly request that group activities be avoided."

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