COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea

On 20 January, the first confirmed case was identified as a 35-year-old Chinese woman. The first South Korean national to be infected occurred three days later was a 55-year-old man who worked in Wuhan and returned for a checkup with flu symptoms. The two infection reports were publicly released on 24 January.[1]

On 26 January, a third case as a 54-year-old South Korean man. He had used a rental car and visited three restaurants, a hotel, a convenience store and met his family before admitting himself to hospital. All these places were disinfected.

On 27 January, a fourth case was reported as a 55-year-old South Korean man who returned from Wuhan on 20 January. He first experienced flu symptoms on 21 January and suffered further complications four days later, eventually turning himself in. Both cases were tallied into formal records on 27 January.[21]

On 1 February, an update on the first four patients indicated that the first three patients were showing weaker symptoms and recovering well while the fourth patient was getting treatment from pneumonia. Rumours circulated that the fourth patient had died which health authorities denied.[22]

Two more confirmed cases were reported on 30 January. The fifth patient was a 32-year-old South Korean man who returned from his work at Wuhan on 24 January. The sixth patient was the first case in South Korea who had never visited Wuhan. The 56-year-old man caught the virus when visiting a restaurant with the third patient.[23]

On 31 January, a seventh patient was reported as a 28-year-old South Korean man returning from Wuhan on 23 January. He developed symptoms on 26 January, and was admitted to the hospital on 28 January.[24] On the same day, four more patients were admitted into the record as the eighth patient, 62-year-old South Korean woman, returned from Wuhan. The ninth patient caught the virus from the fifth patient through direct contact while the tenth and the eleventh patient were the wife and child who were infected while visiting the sixth patient.[25]

On 1 February, a 49-year-old Chinese national working in Japan as a tour guide was confirmed as the twelfth patient. He caught the virus while visiting a Japanese patient in Japan and entered South Korea through Gimpo International Airport on 19 January.[22] The KCDC confirmed an additional three cases on 2 February, bringing the total to fifteen.[26]

A woman, who had returned from Thailand after a five-day vacation, was tested positive and confirmed as the sixteenth case on 4 February.[27] Three more cases were confirmed on 5 February, bringing the total case count to 19. The seventeenth and nineteenth patients had attended a conference in Singapore and been in contact with an infected individual there.[28] The very same day the KCDC announced that the second patient had been released from hospital after being tested negative in consecutive tests, becoming the country's first coronavirus patient to fully recover.[29]

Shincheonji Daegu Church

On 18 February, South Korea confirmed its 31st case in Daegu, a member of the Shincheonji religious organisation. The patient continued to go to gatherings of Shincheonji days after showing symptoms, which are typically held with people in very close proximity and include physical contact of the members. Many of the patient's close contacts would turn out to be infected, triggering a drastic escalation of the South Korean spread of confirmed cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection.[33][18]

On 19 February, the number of confirmed cases increased by 20. On 20 February 70[3] new cases were confirmed, giving a total of 104 confirmed cases, according to the KCDC. According to Reuters, KCDC attributed the sudden jump of 70 cases linked to "Patient No. 31", who had participated in a gathering in Daegu at the Shincheonji Church of Jesus the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony.[3]

On 20 February, the streets of Daegu were empty in reaction to the Shincheonji outbreak. A resident described the reaction, stating "It's like someone dropped a bomb in the middle of the city. It looks like a zombie apocalypse."[3] The first death was reported[34] in a mental ward of Cheongdo Daenam Hospital in Cheongdo County. According to the mayor of Daegu, the number of suspected cases as of 21 February was 544 among 4,400 examined followers of the church.[35] The hospital was suspected as the source of the present outbreak after it was visited by a woman who became the second fatal case of South Korea on that day. Upon investigation, it was determined that the infection had spread to that hospital through a funeral ceremony attended by members of the church.[36][37]

All South Korean military bases were on lockdown after tests confirmed three soldiers to be positive for the virus.[36] Airlines cut connections and cultural schedules were being canceled due to fears of further spread.[38][39] United States Forces Korea raised the alert level from low to moderate and cut off non-essential travel to and from USFK Daegu.[40] USFK Daegu's school facilities were closed and non-essential personnel were ordered to stay at home while any visitors going there were not allowed to enter.[40] USFK announced that the widow of a retired soldier who was in Daegu was diagnosed to be positive for the virus on 24 February.[41] Camp Humphreys enacted virus detection protocols, including temperature checks and raised the alert level to high.[42] On 26 February, an American soldier based at Camp Carroll was diagnosed to be positive and was quarantined away from bases via off-base housing unit[43] with contact tracing done that showed his movements to Camp Walker.[44]

As of 22 February, among 9,336 followers of the church, 1,261 reported symptoms.[45] At the time, 169 confirmed cases involved the same church and another 111 came from the Cheongdo Daenam Hospital.[46] 23 February saw another 123 cases with 75 being from Shincheonji[47] and 24 February saw 161 additional cases with 129 being from the same religious group. Over 27,000 people have been tested for the virus with 19,127 negative results.[48]

On 24 February, 15 countries imposed travel restrictions to and from South Korea.[49] It was also reported that a senior health official overseeing the COVID-19 efforts in Daegu tested positive and was also a member of Shincheonji.[50][51] Within a few days, a petition to the nation's president urging for the disbandment of the church had over 750,000 signatures. Their headquarters in Gwacheon was raided by law enforcement and government officials said all 245,000 members of the religious group would be found and tested.[51]

On 28 February, over 2,000 confirmed cases were reported.[52]

Recommendations for preventing COVID-19 released by KCDC under the Ministry of Health and Welfare of South Korea.

On 2 March, there were over 4,200 confirmed cases.[53] With an additional 4,000 cases of COVID-19 within two weeks, and roughly 60% of the total infections nationwide having stemmed from the church, the Seoul city government asked prosecutors to press charges against the religious group's founder and senior members for murder, causing harm, and for violating the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act.[54] Interviews have occurred with all 230,000 members of the religious group and nearly 9,000 were said to be showing symptoms of the virus.[55] Due to the number of infections in the country, ninety-five countries have banned or limited entry for South Korean passport holders.[56] Testing is also conducted at drive-through testing sites where patients do not leave their vehicles, but are met by medical personnel in hazmat suits over several stations. The process is completed in a few minutes and results come in several days.[57]

On 8 March, KCDC in South Korea announced that 79.4% of confirmed COVID-19 cases were related to group infection. KCDC also announced that outbreak associated with Shincheonji Church totaled 4,482 infections, accounting for 62.8% of the total confirmed cases.[58][59]

13 March was the first time since the outbreak on 20 January in which the number of recoveries, 177, was larger than the number of those who newly tested positive, 110.[60][61][62] However, with the recent cluster of cases in the Seoul Capital Area, there are new fears that infections may rise sharply.[63]

The controversy about Shincheonji also continued, and generated international interest. After the lawsuit started by the Mayor of Seoul, the police raided the church premises to check whether the list of members supplied by Shincheonji pursuant to a request by the authorities was, as the Mayor argued, not complete. The authorities checked the list seized during the raid with the one Shincheonji had supplied, and concluded that discrepancies were minor.[64]

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) expressed concern that religious freedom rights of Shincheonji members may be violated in South Korea by "exaggerating the church's role in the outbreak," and stated that, "USCIRF has received reports of individuals encountering discrimination at work and spousal abuse because of their affiliation with the church."[65] USCIRF reported that South Korean "Vice Minister of Health Kim Kang-lip has publicly stated that the Shincheonji church has cooperated with authorities."[65] The Belgian NGO Human Rights Without Frontiers and CESNUR released a "White Paper" claiming that, although it did make "mistakes" in its management of the crisis, Shincheonji had also been discriminated because of its status as an unpopular group in South Korea.[66][67]

On 17 March, around 79 church devotees were infected with the virus after attending the River of Grace Community Church. The infections were claimed to have been caused by spraying salt-water into followers' mouths, under the belief that this would protect them from the virus.[68][69] Nearly 140 churches in Gyeonggi Province, which surrounds Seoul and is part of the Greater Seoul Area, will be closed if they do not implement preventative measures, including temperature checks, two-meter separation, and the wearing of masks.[70] As more churches are holding services despite a government order for social distancing, on 30 March, the controversial Manmin Central Church in Guro, Seoul became a cluster with 22 infections linked to a gathering in early March in which the group was preparing stock footage to use for online worship services. Other church clusters have appears in the cities of Suwon, Busan, Geochang, and Bucheon.[71]

As infection rates have risen outside Korea leading to increases of sick arriving in the country (476 of 9,661 cases were imported as of 30 March), the KCDC will be implementing stronger infectious disease control measures for travelers coming from overseas as of 1 April. Additionally, new self-quarantine measures for travelers coming from Europe or the United States will be in effect from the same day. For example, those showing symptoms but test negative, and those who are without symptoms and are staying short-term in Korea, need to quarantine for two weeks in a government provided facility.[72] Costs for the stay at the facility are the responsibility of the individual and total 100,000 won (US$81) per day.[73] A few days later, a Taiwanese woman was deported on 5 April for refusing to stay in a quarantine facility as she initially agreed and then later disagreed with paying for the cost of staying at the government designated facility, reportedly costing around 100,000 won per day.[74]

A total of 45 people are being investigated by the police for allegedly violating COVID-19 self-isolation. Under the revised anti-infectious disease law, violators can face up to a year in prison, a 10 million won fine, or in the case of foreign passport holders—deportation.[75]

Seeing the infodemic on COVID-19 information starting in China and spreading to Korea and the US, fake news researcher Cha Meeyoung of KAIST and the Institute for Basic Science, along with researchers from Ewha Womans University, started the multilingual Facts Before Rumors campaign to separate common claims seen online.[76][77][78][79]

A Canadian cast member with the touring The Phantom of the Opera stage play entered Korea on March 12, participated for roughly two weeks, and tested positive 2 April. An American colleague tested positive on 4 April, which shut down production of the musical until 14 April while the venue could be disinfected and contacts of the staff, those staying in the same hotel, and over 8,000 people who recently attended were contacted by health authorities who told them to stay indoors and contact a testing center if they develop symptoms.[80]

On 13 April, it was reported that at least 116 individuals who were infected and later cleared of the virus had again tested positive. The cause for this is under investigation but early speculation considered faulty tests, reactivation of the virus instead of re-infection, or remnants of the virus might remain yet not be harmful to the host or other individuals. The nation also stated their plans to send 600,000 testing kits to the United States and asked people to continue social distancing while hinting that a loosening of these regulations might come in the near future.[81] By 17 April, the KCDC stated that it knew of 163 patients who were said to have recovered, but again tested positive. The exact cause was not known but they stated several possibilities.[82]

Patient #31 continuously stayed in the hospital 58 days, as of 14 April. The single occupancy room she is in costs 400,000 KRW per day (roughly US$360) with a total hospital bill thus far north of 40 million won (roughly US$36,000). While she is the longest hospitalized COVID-19 patient in Korea, 4.9% of those infected have stayed in a hospital more than 50 days. Additionally, another one thousand people have been quarantined for four weeks or more.[83]

After several days with new infections numbering in the single digits (April 18, 20, 22), the government announced it was going to start lifting restrictions starting with stores, restaurants, gyms, cram schools, bars, and religious services; which is notable as most of the nation's infections came from places of worship. In coming weeks, arboretums, forests and national parks will begin to open with social distancing still in place until at least early May. After seeing Korea successfully lower cases of infection, President Moon Jae-in has engaged in "coronavirus diplomacy" with leaders of other nations, part of which involved exporting test kits to more than 20 countries.[84] On April 26, confirmed patient number 31 in Daegu was discharged after 67 days.[85]

After a sustained period of reported cases in the country being below 20, a new cluster emerged in central Seoul. A 29-year-old patient from Yongin was found to have visited at least five nightclubs in Itaewon during the late night hours of May 1 and the subsequent early morning hours of May 2. After having gone to other places in Seoul and neighboring Gyeonggi and Gangwon provinces, he tested positive for COVID-19 and was admitted to a hospital in Suwon. His more than 1,300 contacts, several among them being difficult to identify and trace, were urged to self-isolate and have themselves tested for the virus.[86][87] Because of this incident, the Seoul city government has ordered all clubs, bars, room salons, and other nightlife establishments in the city to close indefinitely.[88] As of May 10, the number of cases that was linked to this cluster has since increased to 54, and is still expected to rise because of the large number of potentially exposed individuals.[89] On 11 May, there were 79 cases linked with the clubs in Itaewon.[90] As multiple media outlets clearly identified at least one of the bars as being a gay bar, the LGBT community in Seoul fears an anti gay backlash; social media users have threatened to track and stop the "immoral acts" in some of the nightclubs.[91]

Persistent local groups of infections in the greater Seoul area continued to be found in South Korea, which led to KCDC director Jeong Eun-kyeong saying in June that the country had entered a second wave of infections.[92] However, a WHO official disagreed that the country is in a second wave.[93]