SCMP- secretive South Korean church linked to outbreak held meetings in Wuhan until December

[soryang]

Coronavirus: secretive South Korean church linked to outbreak held meetings in Wuhan until December

Around 200 Shincheonji Church of Jesus members continued to meet in the Chinese city amid rumours of virus, but ‘no one took [claims] seriously’ at first

Around half the Covid-19 cases in South Korea have been linked to members of the religious group
Mimi Lau

Published: 10:24pm, 25 Feb, 2020

Members of the Christian sect linked to a cluster of coronavirus cases in South Korea held meetings in Wuhan until December, only stopping when they realised that their community had been hit by Covid-19, the previously unknown disease caused by the virus.

The South China Morning Post has learned that the Shincheonji Church of Jesus in Wuhan, the Chinese city at the centre of the epidemic, has around 200 members, most of whom are currently under quarantine outside the city.

“Rumours about a virus began to circulate in November but no one took them seriously,” said one member, a 28-year-old kindergarten teacher.

“I was in Wuhan in December when our church suspended all gatherings as soon as we learned about [the coronavirus],” said the woman, who declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter.

Much more:

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3052322/coronavirus-secretive-south-korean-church-linked-outbreak-held

There is an attempt by sources to deny responsibility for the rapid spread of the disease to Daegu and Cheongdo. The contagious disease had already started spreading by the time some of the church/cult members finally returned to South Korea. By then the South Korean government was already well aware of the epidemic as evidenced by the advance warning to stay home rather than travel over the lunar holiday period starting January 25.

She said the group was continuing to share sermons and teachings online, but most members had returned home at the start of the Lunar New Year holiday in late January.

[dewsgirl]

1. So maybe it wasn't the super spreader alone.

If I had the time, I would love to read about that church, not because I would want to join...it just sounds very interesting.
Edit: this also raises the question of possibly a much longer incubation period in some.

[soryang]

2. I'm not aware of the exact nexus with "case 31"

I am not sure about the incubation period issue although i've heard people make contentions about it perhaps being longer than fourteen days. But I don't know. I'll defer to the experts.

I think a lot of the people involved in Sincheonchi in Daegu had contact with the Wuhan Sincheonji travelers and when they experienced cold like or flu like symptoms simply were in denial and kept going about their business: going to Sunday services; tutoring at the language school across the street from the church for Chinese ethnic Koreans (so they can read and understand Bible passages); at the local hospital where the first death occurred among handicapped patients. Case 31 went to church four times, two times asymptomatic, two times symptomatic. I doubt if she was the only one. The funeral at the Cheongdo hospital funeral service facility for the founders brother was believed to have drawn visitors from overseas perhaps including China.

i heard a news report yesterday, that the lists provided by or taken by legal government process from other Sincheonji congregations in South Korea for epidemiological screening and tracking didn't include the lists of young people in the teens and twenties being recruited by the organization through their bible study program. If one knows the modus operandi and psychology of Korean congregations like this, the less ethical ones are predatory, secretive, and jealous of their "human resources," which are often taken from rival church congregations. People and practices are treated like proprietary information and jealously guarded. This has been part of the difficulty in controlling the epidemic. One news report in South Korea said "case 31" refused covid 19 screening twice after being symptomatic. I have a suspicion this wasn't unique.

[dewsgirl]

3. Thank you. So many stories surrounding, 31 and the church

it's hard to differentiate fact from rumor, it sounds like you are more on top of this than most people.