21 People Infected in Group at Church in Bupyeong-gu, Incheon... Incheon City to Issue Administrative Guidance to Church on 23rd

'Galilee Presbyterian Church' Pastors and Congregants in Large Numbers
One is a Bupyeong-gu Public Official... District Office Building Closed, All Staff Tested

On the 20th, as the spread of COVID-19 continues, the scene of Sarang Jeil Church in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul. 2020.8.20 / Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] Amid the recent continuous increase in confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) in the Seoul metropolitan area, a cluster infection has occurred at a church in Bupyeong-gu, Incheon.

According to Incheon City on the 22nd, 21 people including pastors and congregants at the 'Galilee Presbyterian Church' in Bupyeong-gu were collectively confirmed positive for COVID-19. Following the first confirmed case reported the previous day, 20 additional cases were identified on the same day at this church.

Among the confirmed cases, 20 reside in Incheon, and one is identified as a resident of Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province. The Gimpo resident is a public official affiliated with Bupyeong-gu, Incheon.

The quarantine authorities estimate that the church has 6 pastors and about 60 congregants, indicating the possibility of further confirmed cases.

Accordingly, all of them are under self-quarantine and sequential specimen tests are being conducted. It is known that some of them reside in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province.

Furthermore, as it was confirmed that among the confirmed cases at this church there is an employee affiliated with Bupyeong-gu Office, the Bupyeong-gu government building will be closed until the 23rd, and a walk-through screening clinic has been set up near the government building to conduct specimen tests on all employees.

Incheon City and Bupyeong-gu are focusing on identifying the infection routes and contacts through in-depth epidemiological investigations, as the infection routes of these confirmed cases are unclear.

Also, related to the 'Yeolmaemaneun Church' in Namdong-gu, where a cluster of COVID-19 patients emerged, three additional confirmed cases including spouses of confirmed patients were reported on the same day, bringing the total to 18 people.

Due to the recent surge in COVID-19 confirmed cases, social distancing level 2 measures have been implemented in the Seoul metropolitan area since the 19th and nationwide since the 22nd, allowing only non-face-to-face worship services in all churches.

Incheon City and the districts/counties have directly delivered official letters urging the prohibition of in-person worship services to 4,066 churches in the region, along with a letter from the mayor, and plan to deploy about 2,000 public officials on the 23rd to conduct intensive administrative guidance for churches.

The city plans to take stringent measures such as banning gatherings against churches that do not comply with the request to prohibit in-person worship services.

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