South Korea Reported 52 Covid-19 Cases On 21 Feb Morning & Another 48 Later In The Day
South Korea’s Covid-19 statistics continues to shock the region for a second consecutive day.
Just today (21 Feb) alone, they have confirmed a whopping total of 100 infections, with the majority of them in Daegu city.
Here’s a round-up of what happened today.
South Korea reported 52 cases on 21 Feb morning
This morning, news reports of 52 confirmed cases of Covid-19 splashed across news headlines.
Of the 52 new cases, 39 are linked to the Shincheonji Church of Jesus branch in Daegu.
As of 10am, the country had 156 cases in total. And 111 of these cases are based in their 4th largest city, Daegu, reports Channel NewsAsia (CNA).
Another 48 cases confirmed later in the day
Hours after, South Korea reported another 48 Covid-19 cases, taking the total tally of infected cases to 204.
Out of the 48 newly-confirmed cases, only 2 were not related to the cult church, according to CNA.
More than 100 members of church infected
Now, more than 100 members of the church are down with the virus.
And it all reportedly started with a 61-year-old churchgoer, who was running a fever on 10 Feb.
Despite her condition, she went for at least 4 services before she was diagnosed with the coronavirus.
Staff disinfecting the premises of the church
Source
According to TIME, Daegu’s mayor Kwon Young-jin urged his 2.5 million residents to stay at home and wear masks.
Church leader called outbreak “devil’s deed”
According to The Straits Times, Shincheonji leader Mr Lee Man-hee referred to the mass outbreak in the church as the “devil’s deed”.
Mr Lee, who is leader of Shincheonji Church of Jesus
Source
He wrote in a message to members of his church,
…This disease case is seen as the devil’s deed to stop the rapid growth of Shincheonji.
Mr Lee likened it to the trials biblical figure Job encountered, telling his congregation that it was to “destroy [their] advancement”.
The church has a reputation of being a cult and Lee himself has been criticised too.
Stay strong, South Korea
South Korea’s drastic increase of Covid-19 infections is getting more worrisome. Not only are they now the country with the most cases outside of mainland China, they had also just confirmed their first death yesterday (20 Feb).
MS News offers our deepest condolences to the loved ones of the deceased.
We hope that South Korea can make it through this situation and the spread of the Covid-19 can be controlled soon.
Also read:
South Korea Reports 31 New Covid-19 Cases, 23 Linked To 1 Church Cluster In Daegu
South Korea Confirms 22 More Cases Of Covid-19 & 1st Death Linked To Coronavirus
Featured image adapted from AFP.
