The South Korean Government Begins Corona Virus Examination of More Than 200,000 Members of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus

News24xx.com - More than 200,000 members of religious sects are being examined for experiencing symptoms of coronavirus by South Korean authorities on Wednesday, when the US commander reported the first case among American troops in the country.

Most of South Korea's novel coronaviruses are related to the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, an entity often accused of being a cult.

After days of mounting public anger, the secret Shincheonji group handed over a list of 212,000 members, the government said.

Local authorities across the country - which have more cases of corona virus than anywhere else outside China - will check if they have symptoms of fever or respiratory disease and put them in quarantine at home if so, said deputy health minister Kim Gang-lip.

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Shincheonji claims its founder Lee Man-hee has worn the robe of Jesus Christ and will bring 144,000 people to heaven on Judgment Day.

A 61-year-old female member developed a fever on February 10, but attended at least four church services in Daegu - the fourth largest city in the country and its epicenter - before being diagnosed.

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) reported 284 new infections on Wednesday - the biggest daily increase to date - bringing the overall national count to 1,261, with the number of deaths increasing to 12.

The vast majority - more than 80 percent - of new infections on Wednesday were in Daegu and neighboring North Gyeongsang province, among them the largest part of the national total.

An American soldier stationed at Carroll Camp 30 kilometers north of Daegu tested positive for the virus, commanders said, the first infection among 28,500 Washington station troops in the South to defend it against nuclear-armed North Korea.

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The 23-year-old serviceman has been quarantined at his home, the US Korean Forces said, adding that it was conducting "contact tracing" to determine whether other soldiers had been exposed.

The streets of Daegu - population of 2.5 million - have been largely deserted for days, despite long queues at some shops with masks for sale.

The authorities have urged the public to take extra care, advising residents to stay at home if they have a fever or respiratory symptoms.

But they said they were not considering locking the city up like China did for Wuhan, where the virus first appeared.

A number of events have been canceled or postponed because the outbreak has spread in the 12th largest economy in the world, from K-pop concerts to the start of the K-league football season and the World Team Table Tennis championship, while museums and other public places have been closed.

In Daegu, Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said at the meeting that the government would "mobilize all resources and means" to try to control the outbreak.

South Korea has an advanced medical system, a free press and a strong culture of public accountability, and observers say that its health statistics can be treated with confidence.

NEWS24XX.COM/FIR