Some South Korea coronavirus updates

[waves-of-light.livejournal.com]

Capital area reports another cluster infection at church


Another cluster transmission of the new coronavirus has infected 46 members of a protestant church in Seongnam, just south of Seoul, the municipal government said Monday, ringing an alarm bell on the steady spread of cluster infections in the capital area.

The city government of Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, said 40 additional followers of the River of Grace Community Church tested positive for COVID-19 after six members, including the pastor and his wife, were found to be infected over the past week.

They all attended the same service on March 8, it noted.

One Seongnam resident who had come into contact with one of the infected church members also tested positive for the virus.

The Seongnam church became the second-largest cluster of infections in the capital area after a Seoul insurance call center, which has so far reported 129 infections.

According to Seongnam officials, the coronavirus infections of the church's pastor, wife and other members who attended the same service on March 8 have been confirmed over the past week.

The city government made the announcement after testing all of the church's 135 followers, including about 90 who attended the March 8 service.

The Seongnam church case came after several cluster infections have been recently reported across the Seoul metropolitan area amid a steep decline in the number of new COVID-19 cases in South Korea, in addition to outbreaks in Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province, the center of the nation's coronavirus outbreak.

South Korea on Monday reported 74 new cases of the coronavirus to total 8,236, marking the second consecutive day the number of new cases was below 100.

Authorities, however, are still on high alert over new clusters of infections, including at a call center in Seoul's Guro district and the country's government complex in the administrative city of Sejong.

A total of 129 cases in Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi Province have been linked to the Guro call center, while the oceans ministry, based in the central city of Sejong, around 130 kilometers south of Seoul, has reported 27 confirmed cases.

According to Seoul's metropolitan government, a cluster infection originating at a church and an internet cafe in Dongdaemun Ward has also affected 24 people.

Seoul has so far reported a little over 250 confirmed cases, while Gyeonggi Province's coronavirus patients have topped 230.

The authorities have urged local churches and other religious organizations to refrain from holding worship in person, but some have failed to heed the request.

Lee Jae-myung, governor of Gyeonggi Province, met with the province's religious leaders on Feb. 28 to encourage them to hold online services to help curb the coronavirus outbreak.

Seongnam's River of Grace Community Church, however, went ahead with its Sunday services on March 1 and 8.

The church, located on the third and fourth floors of a commercial building, has announced a two-week shutdown from last Monday to this coming Sunday.

Most of the building's stores, including a restaurant, cafe and hospital, have also temporarily suspended business after the mass infection of the church followers was reported.

Neighbors say around 100 followers used to pack the church's chapel of about 100 square meters on the third floor every Sunday, adding the place was also frequented by 20 to 30 followers on weekdays.

"All large-scale churches in Seongnam have suspended physical worship services, but the River of Grace Community Church had pushed ahead with its Sunday gathering for two weeks, despite protests from neighbors," a Seongnam resident said.

Provincial officials suspect that the church's inappropriate use of a salt water spray for all church members attending the Sunday services may have caused the latest cluster of infections.

Footage of a surveillance camera, released by the province, showed church officials spraying salt water into the mouths of all church members before attending the March 1 and 8 services, apparently for disinfection purposes.

"If the spray was repeatedly used for different people without disinfection, it could have increased the number of infections," a provincial official said.

The church's pastor, identified only as Kim, apologized for the mass infection of his church members, speaking over the phone with Yonhap News Agency.

"I feel deeply sorry about what has happened. I will take all the blame and responsibility," Kim said, indicating his intention to retire after the ongoing crisis is over.

Meanwhile, Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon told reporters Monday that most religious organizations have temporarily shifted to online services in accordance with the government's request, but 33 percent of churches in the city are still carrying on with offline worship.

"There has been an increasing number of cases where office workers become infected while attending church services," Park said, again urging local churches to avoid on-site services.




S. Korea gives free concerts online in honor of people fighting coronavirus


Despite the intensifying fears over the spread of the coronavirus that have led to shutdowns of local concert halls and museums, classical music fans in South Korea can still enjoy performing arts.

The Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, which has canceled all of its scheduled shows in March, mapped out a special performance of "Symphony No. 3," or "Heroic Symphony," composed by Ludwig v. Beethoven, and live streamed it Friday through its official YouTube page and Facebook account.

It said the special online program conducted by the orchestra's associate conductor Wilson Ng, with 40 instrumental players, was dedicated to those who have been fighting against the spread of the infectious COVID-19 virus for more than a month.

The Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Seoul will live broadcast an opera program of the Seoul Metropolitan Opera on March 31 on YouTube.

It will replace the Seoul Metropolitan Dance Theatre's performance, originally set for Thursday and Friday last week, with an online edition on April 18.

Its previous famous concerts and recitals will also be released on YouTube for free Monday.

The center, run by the Seoul metropolitan government, has postponed or canceled its original shows and productions for March amid the coronavirus outbreak.

On top of it, Korean traditional music, or "gukak," is also available on YouTube.

The Seoul Donwhamun Traditional Theater has decided to convert all of its scheduled performances at its main venue into online ones.

Seven programs, including a "gayageum" concert by artist Seo Jung-min are subject to the theater's online project for this month.

South Korea has reported nearly 8,300 confirmed cases of the COVID-19 as of Monday, while the national virus alert was raised to the highest level and staying indoors is recommended.





How are you guys holding up?


source: Yonhap News 1 2

Comments

[lightframes.livejournal.com]

Footage of a surveillance camera, released by the province, showed church officials spraying salt water into the mouths of all church members before attending the March 1 and 8 services, apparently for disinfection purposes.

"If the spray was repeatedly used for different people without disinfection, it could have increased the number of infections," a provincial official said

Noooooooo

I'm holding up okay right now. I already have supplies. I take my temperature in the morning to make sure it's normal. I think our office is finally going to let us work from home this week, but they should have let us do this last week, so I'm kind of annoyed it took so long.

The U.S. is handling this so badly. I was reading an article about how people don't want to "overreact" because it's embarrassing if it turns out to be unnecessary, but we already know this will be bad from looking at other countries, so following the same steps they have to slow the spread can't really be considered overreacting...

[sglitzys.livejournal.com]

I'm going through waves of emotions. Anxiety (financial concerns, parents), sad (I miss talking face to face and hanging out with my friends & coworkers), fear (how badly the USA is handling this will cause more deaths and spread of the virus) and boredom. My state is doing a better job than the Trump administration. Massachusetts already have pick up places for school meals for children, funds set up for employees and small businesses.

[vintage-boom.livejournal.com]

The anxiety is real. The best advice I was given was to focus on what you can control so I’m trying to do that and not hyperfocus but today I couldn’t work at all. Hopefully tomorrow will be easier.

They haven’t called for a lockdown yet in my city but it’s coming.

[benihime99.livejournal.com]

We're a full lockdown cause people are dumb as fuck
Honestly as scared as I am as an individual, the human race is fucking stupid and deserve this shir

Why are y'all still kissing cheeks and shadowing people? Cause you're 25?
Fucking idiot!!!
And you're not a dragon stop hoarding things

[lightframes.livejournal.com]

And you're not a dragon stop hoarding things

I'm going to start using this!

[aeries-amethyst.livejournal.com]

And you're not a dragon stop hoarding things

okay, that last sentence took me tf out. this is gonna be my new quote in light of all of this lmao XD i am so over everyone panic shopping unnecessarily.

[gathyou.livejournal.com]

Lmao the pasta and PQ struggle is real, I tried to do some groceries yesterday and I couldn't find any. People are so stupid. Shops in Italy are still open and filled with whatever people need despite being on a tighter lockdown, no need to freak out!

[frequency.livejournal.com]

i'm thankfully good on bottled water and toilet paper, but i can't do any actual grocery shopping cause people keep buying it all. you can't find out when stock's coming in, and even if you could, it would be pointless. stores are closing early so they can ~restock~ but people line up for an hour before they re-open, so by the time you get there, everything's gone again.

so yeah, i pretty much hate people right now. also, that vid of the girl licking the airplane toilet seat? we could all go extinct tomorrow and we'll have deserved it cause of that nonsense.

the one article i've actually enjoyed reading was how the tennessee AG seized all those bottles of hand sanitizer from that guy who complained to the NYT about not being able to sell them. the AG's office plans on donating them to people who actually need it!

[lightframes.livejournal.com]

the girl licking the airplane toilet seat

But why...

[elimoum.livejournal.com]

Omg, licking the toilet seat is so nasty, and stupid! By the way, here in Norway a child has been admitted to the hospital with the virus, so they can catch it, and even some of them will have more severe symptoms.. But I’m aware that children handle the virus very well normally

[rosiemotleymind.livejournal.com]

I’m okay with being home because I’m lazy and I’m privileged enough to be on salaried and payed either way from my job. I’m sick though from a bad sinus infection. People seem to forget that this is allergy season as well.

My town probably has cases but who knows. My sister has allergies/asthma and is suffering from pneumonia right now and she went to get tested but the hospital spit her right back out. Like why not test just in case?

My small town is a hub with people traveling to and from Chicago and Champaign where there are cases. Why not be extra safe? I canceled my trip to New York in April because I still come in contact with older people especially my parents and I refuse to get them sick. People were complaining because Chicago canceled the St Patrick’s day parade and STILL went out. The selfishness is high and critical thinking skills low in the time of mass sickness amirite? Stay safe everyone!

[gathyou.livejournal.com]

They were probably worried that your sister would catch covid-19 and be at risk, if she has pneumonia, allergies and asthma, it's a very dangerous time for her. It's tough because while she needs to avoid places where she could catch it (aka hospitals), she still needs to be healed... I really hope they can figure out something for her and that she stays safe.
Cancelling your trip seems to me like the right decision!!!
Good luck and take care!

[froggster.livejournal.com]

I'm honestly fine. I like working from home, so doing it for a few weeks instead of once-twice a week is a plus for me lmao. More time with the kitties and some gaming during work. The supermarket near my home was nearly fully stocked as well. The only thing empty was tomato puree, diced tomatoes and broccoli. People are clearly going all in on making pasta sauce haha.
I'm a healthy individual, but I'm being extra careful because my mom isn't.

[aures.livejournal.com]

the news is starting to overwhelm me a lot so i'm slowly starting to filter and limit the amount of news. personally i'm staying inside all day, i only go for a small walk during day time for some fresh air when not a lot of people are outside but otherwise i'm not going anywhere. how are you holding up @ OP? you okay?

[gathyou.livejournal.com]

Hello you! it's overwhelming so you're doing the right thing by filtering things out :) take care of yourself <3

[gathyou.livejournal.com]

It's so weird. I was just on sick leave (for mental health) the past month, so basically a self quarantine (I went out at least once everyday but honestly spent most of my time at home). Yesterday I go back to work, and now everyone is sent back home. Except now I'm supposed to work from my small flat (I guess I'll work from my bed?? sadly no other option for me).
Everyone was freaking out at work. My (dumb) boss was rambling about fake news by the end of the day (at least working from home has an advantage: I won't see her face!!!), another coworker had gloves on her the whole day... It's a serious issue and we all need to be cautious but damn try to stay calm
So I'm back home lol
It's officially a two-weeks lockdown at the moment but my work is planning on a five-weeks lockdown
I hope I'll be able to do some work but I've never worked from home before and I feel so weird about it??
People are so freaking stupid with the hoarding, I went grocery shopping yesterday as I usually do early in the week and no pasta nor PQ available. But anything else was fine. Dumb shits. There's no shortage, just stupid persons.
Anyway sorry for the rambling XD

[benihime99.livejournal.com]

Thank god I have a small garden, but I also have a small baby
Working with her is challenging XD
But weirdly enough the only co-workers working ar eteh one with kids at home, my two assholes coworkers are basically on holiday

[nana-the-dwarf.livejournal.com]

My brother refuses to do much to avid getting infected. 40000 people attended a music festival, but barely anyone seems to give a shit. Our president isnencouraging people to hug and kiss each other...

I’m not much worried about my siblings or myself, but as I said, my brother refuses to avoid crowded spaces and such, and I’m afraid he will end up infecting our mother. I can’t even believe it, he says there’s nothing to worry about as long as he takes basic measures like hand washing and such, but the bastard coughs without even covering his mouth.

I told her to stay away from him, I don’t give a fuck if people think I’m an over dramatic bitch, I’m not risking my mother, she’s on the older side and it’s a bigger risk for her.

[gathyou.livejournal.com]

That's very selfish of your brother to do so. I hope your Mom listens to you and stays safe. Things can escalade really quickly (like here in France, last week everyone tried to calm down people, now we're on lockdown) so I really don't think you're being dramatic.

[elimoum.livejournal.com]

I’m from Norway, we didn’t really do much at the beginning so now we’re pretty much under lockdown. Some is still working, but all museums, hairdressers, schools etc. has been closed. I work part time at a grocery store and it’s been nuts... we’ve huge storages here so we’re not gonna run out of food anytime soon. But people are hoarding toilet paper, potatoes, flour and more so... guess they’ll be sitting a lot on the toilet? But joking aside, hoarding means some will have a lot and some will have nothing. It’s just selfish.

I’m also a student and luckily I only have to write my bachelors degree, so I will be done by summer, even if the school is closed. Everything is over the internett now so. I also live in the countryside so it’s easy to get some distance from people. Which I really appreciate right now, seeing people breaking their quarantine and also some idiots who keep on meeting in large crowds just because they’re bored! And some who go out is also sick, not confirmed corona, but still. You have a fever, stay at home! I mean... sure you’re healthy and can handle the virus, but what if I get it from you and spread it to my customers who some are elderly? Or to my own family? Not nice, it’s strickt to benefit the community as a whole, not just you! And while I’m rambling, I’m studying to become a radiographer, only have three months left and the hospitals and towns around here are requesting healthcare students to help because we have too few people in the healthcare system.. I want to, but since I already work at an very exposed occupation, I’m thinking I’ll wait until I deliver my resignation from the grocery store.. I’m quitting before may because I need time to finish my bachelor and I got a summer job as a radiographer anyway...

[a-suitcase.livejournal.com]

This kinda news worries me because my wife is a rabbi and so far services etc have still been happening. Although they don't do such silly things as that church did, like wtf.

Today is my first day working from home - I feel restless already, but I'm sure I will get used to it! Just want to make sure my loved ones are safe.

[adlyeith.livejournal.com]

The case count in my state continues to climb, and my city saw its first confirmed case today.

I also had to go to the clinic yesterday for a regular checkup I'd scheduled awhile ago before all this started, and listening to my doctor go off about everything made me realize once again how incredibly frustrated a lot of healthcare professionals are with what's being done in my country (USA) about all of this (far too little too late). The clinic I go to is now able to test people, but because of the extremely limited amount of tests, they have to be selective about who that is. I've also been told that the local hospitals are all on lockdown - the only way in to the building if you aren't staff is through the emergency room. My doctor mentioned she's going to have to start doing hospital rotations as well as her clinician rotations, and the float team of nurses are all being trained up in the hospital's systems in preparation.

Read a story about a guy that hoarded up over 17,000 things of sanitizer, wipes, etc with the intention of making a bunch of money, and when I read that he was crying over all the blow back he received in the form of really pissed off people, I got irritated. The death threats he and his family were getting are never okay, and people shouldn't be sharing his personal information online, but he deserves to get some pretty steamed comments from people directly impacted by his selfishness. Same goes for the Canadian couple who made $70k+ due to inflated prices on resold items before they were shut down. There was a guy in my area using FB Marketplace to sell a box of hand sanitizer for $100k. What is wrong with people.

[theweebdream.livejournal.com]

I’m just annoyed at ppl panic buying. I already hate grocery shopping so it pissed me off going to three different grocery stores this past weekend and not being able to buy everything on my list that I otherwise would have been able to buy in one store.

My job can be done remote so we’ve been told to work remote this week. I’m sure this is going to be pushed out as this virus isn’t going away anytime soon in the US.

Also annoyed at my friends/twitter mutuals still going out to restaurants and stuff. Please, get takeout/drive thru at the most and stay home.

[katheli.livejournal.com]

people are so idiotic about this
"oh why is everyone freaking out about a couple of deaths, more people die of the flu/car accidents/whatever" - well, maybe cause in Italy people are already dying 300 a day? and Spain isn't far behind at 150 deaths a day now?
it's not ONLY old people who die. My country's victims have been in their 60s...that's my parents' age. That's not "old". And younger people have had complications too, which can damage your lungs permanently, but "it's not worse than the flu". Well, the flu isn't nothing, either, how about that? and this is a flu nobody has any immunity to.

[apori.livejournal.com]

It's been something to see how my racist home spent months shitting on my ancestral home (SK) and China for how they handled this when in fact they've done far better than us, especially given their numbers and population density. We have a higher total infected than Japan, and we have like 125 million LESS people. WTF.

Someone at my work tested positive, and we're all working from home. I have my biggest event of the year this week, and we have to try and coordinate and execute it by video. It gives some leeway if it flops but I have been stressed about it. Until this week it wasn't clear if I would have to go in for that event in person, but it was decided no one does on Monday. Before that I woke up soaked in sweat and heaving in the middle of the night from stress at the idea of going in (long commute plus lots of external well-connected people at this event), which I never did, not even when I worked at crisis and emergency preparatory missions in conflict zones. I think because then it was just me, no one I knew lived anywhere near those countries, now I'm terrified of getting it, passing it on to my sick family and that's that. It sounds so selfish, like I only care about people I know and love :( but I am definitely far more spooked now :(

My mom's friend wanted to come visit us (from far away and with their grandkid...) and I had to put my foot down. My mom was not up for it but wasn't sure how to say no (oyyy) and I told her just blame me, say I opposed it because I'm working home and can't be disturbed or because I'm feeling sick or what ever, and for the first time ever I think, my mom actually "blamed me" lol, it was with my full blessing but it was still a milestone.

[blck-ink.livejournal.com]

people keep surprising me with their crazy ass behavior. this church didn't have to physically take place. in my country practically every church either streamed their service or sent sermons to listen to so why couldn't this church do the same?

we're in total lockdown now but i don't feel as anxious. maybe cause none of my family members are, which helps a lot. the only thing that bothers me is that i don't really know what to do with all this time haha. i will have to find a temporary hobby now.

[au9042.livejournal.com]

I've been in quarantine for 12 days, but some days after Italy entered in full lockdown. We are still increasing and will have to wait.
I just will need to do groceries because I'm running out, but shops are still full of stuff for now.
I'm so sorry for you people that have to deal with selfish people buying more than they need.
Stay safe.

[babyjenkski.livejournal.com]

This is the first time I've ever experienced community lockdown so you can just imagine how scary it is. But I am also thankful that our country and LGU leaders overreacted coz it help control the outbreak. I hope you are all safe and praying that science keeps up to find the cure and way to eliminate the virus.

[horichansenpai.livejournal.com]

I'm personally fine but I'm worried about the whole "short of food/supplies" situation a lot of people are going through because of selfish (and very stupid) panic-buyers. I was relieved when my family got hold of most of what they needed to buy today.

The racism also sucks (a lady went to sit next to my Chinese friend on public transport but moved away as soon as she saw her apparently) but that's not new