[Q&A] "Patient 31 Confirmed to Have Visited Shincheonji on February 5... Related Data to Be Utilized"

Shincheonji Daegu Church
Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heung-soon] The quarantine authorities have confirmed the Daegu city announcement that the 31st confirmed COVID-19 patient in South Korea visited the Shincheonji Jesus Church in Daegu earlier than initially reported in the epidemiological investigation, stating, "We will refer to the related data to identify the initial infection route and source of infection."

Jung Eun-kyung, head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters for COVID-19, said at a regular briefing on the afternoon of the 13th, "We confirmed at the time that patient 31 visited the Shincheonji Daegu Church on February 5 by investigating the patient's testimony, mobile phone GPS, and card usage records," adding, "We will utilize Daegu city's administrative investigation data and videos to investigate the infection source and route at the Shincheonji Daegu Church."

Earlier that day, Daegu city stated in a morning briefing, "Patient 31 initially reported visiting the Shincheonji Daegu Church only on February 9 and 16 during the epidemiological investigation, but after reviewing CCTV footage, it was confirmed that the patient also visited on February 5," and "On February 16, contrary to the testimony, it was found that the patient moved around several places inside the building, not just the worship area." Cha Hong-ho, Deputy Mayor of Daegu, explained, "February 5 was a simple visit, not a worship service," and added, "From a quarantine perspective, this is considered a false statement." He further said, "To verify whether the epidemiological investigation was obstructed or disrupted, we plan to send the CCTV footage to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency as reference material."

Below is a Q&A with Director Jung Eun-kyung on additional epidemiological investigation results of patient 31

- To what extent has the quarantine authority confirmed the COVID-19 transmission process at the Shincheonji Daegu Church?

▲ We have confirmed that there were many close contacts among church members through multiple religious events, small group study meetings, and missionary activities. However, the initial infection source and route?where the virus was introduced and who transmitted it?have not yet been fully identified, and the investigation is ongoing. We are excluding many possibilities and continuing the investigation jointly with the pan-government epidemiological investigation support team to determine the exact process of virus introduction.

- Patient 31 has been hospitalized for 56 days today, the longest treatment period in the country. How many patients have been hospitalized for over a month?

▲ About 1,000 patients, approximately 37% of the total, have exceeded the four-week isolation period. Currently, 2,873 patients remain in isolation.

- Is it possible to punish patient 31 for providing false statements?

▲ The Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act includes provisions to punish those who provide false statements or submit false data during epidemiological investigations, or who intentionally omit or conceal facts. Punishments can include imprisonment for up to two years or fines up to 20 million won. We plan to take active measures if such cases apply. However, it is expected to be difficult to prove false statements or intentional concealment in police or prosecution investigations.

- What is the progress on establishing guidelines for plasma treatment, and what is the current status of plasma collection and system setup?

▲ Guidelines for collecting convalescent plasma have been finalized. After receiving opinions from experts, especially from the Korean Society of Transfusion Medicine and the Korean Society of Infectious Diseases, and undergoing review by the blood-related safety subcommittee, the guidelines for collecting convalescent plasma have been finalized and distributed to medical institution blood centers. However, there is still disagreement among experts regarding clinical guidelines on which patients should receive plasma treatment and how it should be applied. We are gathering more opinions.

- There have been cases where people remove vinyl gloves and stamp their voting cards with bare hands for verification. What are the quarantine risks of this behavior?

▲ Vinyl gloves and hand sanitizers are provided because the virus can spread through hand contact. Wearing masks blocks droplet transmission, and hand sanitizers and vinyl gloves minimize transmission through hand contact as infection prevention measures. Stamping the voting card with bare hands and verifying it is inappropriate because if the person's hands are contaminated, they could infect others. Hands must be thoroughly sanitized, vinyl gloves worn, and gloves removed after voting.

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