Controversial church at center of S Korean outbreak

A church whose leader claims he is an angel of Jesus has become the biggest cluster of viral infections in South Korea, where a surge in new cases raises fears that the outbreak is getting out of control.

A total of 110 cases of the new virus, including the country's first death, have been found in the southeast city of Daegju and nearby areas since Wednesday. Of those, about 70% have been linked to a Daegu branch of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, where two recent services were attended by a previously confirmed patient.

South Korea has a total of 156 cases of the virus, which causes COVID-19 disease. Little is known about the patient zero" except that the woman in her early 60s had no recent record of overseas travel and was diagnosed with pneumonia last weekend.

She had initially resisted doctors' recommendations to get tested for the virus, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Some 1,000 Shincheonji church followers who attended Sunday services with her have been quarantined at their homes while authorities screen them for the virus. Health authorities are also trying to monitor thousands of others.

The Shincheonji church blamed the woman for the spread of the disease, saying it has been advising followers since late January to stay home if they had travelled overseas or were experiencing even mild cold-like symptoms. Church officials said the woman assumed she was having the common cold.

Shincheonji, which claims 200,000 followers in South Korea, said it closed all of its 74 churches around the nation and told members to instead watch its services on YouTube.