"1045 People Missing Contact at Sarang Jeil Church" ... Seoul City Secures Additional Beds and Isolation Facilities (Comprehensive)

Refusal to Answer Calls and Unknown Addresses Identified with Police Cooperation
Seoul Bed Occupancy Rate at 61.6% ... 'Strong Social Distancing' Under Consideration

On the 10th, merchants and visitors near the COVID-19 screening clinic set up at Namdaemun Market in Seoul are undergoing specimen tests. According to Seoul City and Jung-gu, eight merchants at Kennedy Arcade in Namdaemun Market were confirmed positive for COVID-19. Photo by Mo Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] Among the 4,066 members and visitors of Seoul Sarang Jeil Church, where a cluster infection of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) occurred, 1,045 people have unconfirmed addresses or are unreachable. The Seoul Metropolitan Government, together with the police, is working to identify these individuals and is considering a transition to stronger social distancing measures depending on the development of the situation.

In an emergency briefing on the 17th, the Seoul city government stated, "As of midnight on the 17th, out of 90 new confirmed COVID-19 cases in Seoul, 58 cases were from Sarang Jeil Church in Seongbuk-gu, led by Pastor Jeon Kwang-hoon. We plan to identify the identities of the members who cannot be contacted with the cooperation of the police to the fullest extent possible."

Over 1,200 Tests Completed Among 4,066 Sarang Jeil Church Testing Subjects

So far, a total of 315 confirmed cases have been identified at this church, of which 209 are in the Seoul area. The health authorities have identified a total of 4,066 people subject to testing, including church members and visitors.

The city confirmed the whereabouts of 3,437 people among them and stated that they provided prompt testing and self-quarantine guidance to 1,971 Seoul residents. Additionally, to conduct comprehensive testing on 669 people without registered addresses, they contacted 119 of them. However, including 550 people with unknown addresses, a total of 1,045 people who either did not answer or had disconnected phone numbers remain unreachable.

Yoo Yeon-sik, head of the Seoul Cultural Headquarters, said, "So far, a total of 1,207 people have been tested," and added, "For the 1,045 people who are difficult to investigate, we plan to visit the sites with police cooperation to identify their identities and addresses as much as possible."

The city filed a complaint against Pastor Jeon on the 16th for violating the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act after he refused self-quarantine and other measures. Park Yu-mi, director of the Seoul Citizen Health Bureau, warned again, "Pastor Jeon was reported to hold him accountable for the spread of COVID-19 and to take strong action against clear violations of the law. Those who refuse to undergo infection testing can cause harm to themselves, their families, and many others, and may face fines of up to 2 million won."

Closely Monitoring Church-Related Spread at Doesaegim Church and Yoido Full Gospel Church

On the same day, three additional positive cases were confirmed at Doesaegim Church in Yangcheon-gu, Seoul, increasing the total number of confirmed cases to 10. No additional confirmed cases have been reported from the recent cluster infections at the Lotteeria workers' gathering in Gwangjin-gu and Banseok Church (Kennedy Shopping Center).

At Yoido Full Gospel Church, 10 people have been infected since a Gyeonggi-do resident tested positive on the 9th, but all are residents of Gyeonggi-do, and no Seoul citizens have been confirmed so far. The city plans to investigate close contacts related to the Full Gospel Church as well.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government has issued a ban on gatherings at 7,560 religious facilities until the 30th. It has also issued 'gathering restrictions and compliance orders for quarantine rules' for high-risk facilities such as karaoke rooms and PC rooms. The city plans to strengthen measures up to suspension of operations if the situation worsens further.

Meanwhile, as of 10 p.m. the previous day, the COVID-19 bed occupancy rate in Seoul was 61.6%, with 485 beds in use out of 787 prepared beds.

To ensure smooth patient treatment and management of self-quarantined individuals, the city has secured up to 382 beds at Taereung Training Center and will operate a residential treatment center starting on the 19th. Additionally, it has secured the Korea Electric Power Corporation Training Center with 250 beds to be operated sequentially. Furthermore, in preparation for a surge in self-quarantined individuals, one private hotel with 196 rooms has also been secured and will begin operation on the 19th.

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