SEOUL (UCAN): Following reports of Covid-19 coronavirus infections linked to members of the sect-like Shincheonji Church of Jesus, in Daegu, South Korea, the local Catholic archdiocese suspended all Masses for three weeks and effectively cancelled Ash Wednesday liturgies.
Archbishop Thaddeus Cho Hwan-kil of Daegu, in an urgent directive on February 19, suspended all church gatherings, including Masses until March 5.
South Korea reported 2,022 infections as of February 28, with 256 being newly confirmed cases, CNN reported. Of the new cases 182 are from the Daegu area including people who had attended prayer services of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus.
Experts linked the new infections to a member of the sect, identified only as Patient 31. The 61-year-old woman, who had tested positive earlier in the previous week, reportedly attended prayer services before and after she developed symptoms of infection.
South Korean authorities are investigating whether there are links to two confirmed cases of infection at a hospital in Cheongdo, a city south of Daegu. The country’s first Covid-19 death on February 20, a 63-year-old man, was treated at the hospital in Cheongdo and authorities are working to confirm the cause. The cities of Daegu and Cheongdo were declared “special care zones” according to reports.
The Archdiocese of Daegu asked all priests to stop public Masses and urged Catholics to pray at homes and engage in spiritual exercises, including the reading of the gospel, to observe the day of obligation.
On Ash Wednesday, February 26, Catholics were asked to fast and abstain from meat, even if there was no liturgy on that day.
The Korean archdiocese’s move comes a week after the Diocese Hong Kong suspended all church programmes for two weeks on February 13.
As of February 28, 2,872 people had died from the virus out of more than 83,870 confirmed cases—mostly in mainland China. Over 36,440 patients are reported to have recovered.
