A woman with the virus attended a church service, potentially spreading the illness to dozens.
“National quarantine efforts that are currently focused on blocking the inflow of the virus and stemming its spread are inadequate for preventing the illness from circulating in local communities,” Kwon said.
The center's director, Jung Eun-kyeong, told reporters that it's still unclear whether she was a “super spreader” of the disease or merely the first patient detected in the area. Jung said officials were screening some 1,000 people who attended services at the Shincheonji Church of Jesus with the woman on Feb. 9 and Feb. 16 and were placing them under home isolation.
It said church officials have advised followers since late January to stay at home if they had recently traveled overseas or were experiencing even mild cold-like symptoms. But the woman assumed she had a common cold and kept coming to the church because she hadn't traveled overseas, church officials said.
Shincheonji, which translates as “New heaven and new Earth,” is a controversial new religious movement established in 1984 by Lee Man-hee. The church describes him as an angel of Jesus sent to testify about the fulfilled prophecies of the Book of Revelation.
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