Author: Chris Kodo

The head of the religious sect that has been at the centre of the coronavirus outbreak in South Korea has apologised to the nation for the disease’s spread.

Lee Man-hee, the leader of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, got on his knees and bowed at a news conference.

About 60% of the country’s more than 4,000 confirmed cases are sect members.

On Monday, South Korea – the biggest hotspot outside China – reported 476 new cases, bringing the total number to 4,212. It has recorded 26 deaths.

Prosecutors have been asked to investigate Mr Lee on possible charges of gross negligence.

“Although it was not intentional, many people have been infected,” said the 88-year-old leader. “We put our utmost efforts, but were unable to prevent it all.”

Of the confirmed cases, 3,081 are from the southern city of Daegu and 73% of these cases have been linked to the Shincheonji Church near there.

In the capital Seoul, the mayor urged the city’s 10 million residents to work from home and to avoid crowded places.

Why is the Shincheonji Church of Jesus in the spotlight?

Members of the fringe Christian group are believed to have infected one another and then travelled around the country, apparently undetected.

The group has been accused of keeping its members’ names secret, making it harder to track the outbreak.

But church spokesman Kim Shin-chang told the BBC they had provided a list of members, students, and buildings to authorities.

“We were worried about releasing this information because of the safety of our members,” Mr Kim said.

Mr Lee claims he is the second coming of Jesus Christ and identifies as “the promised pastor” mentioned in the Bible who will take 144,000 people to heaven with him.

The Shincheonji Church is labelled as a cult within South Korea and also in the Christian community, which results in the group often being discriminated against, persecuted or criticised, Mr Kim told the BBC.

What’s the global situation?

The number of people killed worldwide by the coronavirus has exceeded 3,000, as China reported 42 more deaths. More than 90% of the total deaths are in Hubei, the Chinese province where the virus emerged late last year.

Iran reported another 12 deaths on Monday, taking the total there to 66. They include a high-ranking adviser to the country’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Iranian media reported on Monday.

The European Union has raised its coronavirus risk level from “moderate” to “high”, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Monday. Several European countries have confirmed cases, with Italy the worst affected with more than 1,500 infected and 34 deaths.

In other developments:

• In the UK, where there are 36 confirmed cases, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has called a meeting of the emergency Cobra committee on Monday
• Indonesia – one of the world’s most populous countries – has announced its first confirmed cases of coronavirus, a 64-year-old woman and her 31-year-old daughter, currently being treated at a Jakarta hospital
• Portugal, Iceland and Andorra also reported their first confirmed cases on Monday
• Share prices in Asia and in Europe rose after central banks pledged to intervene to help protect markets from the impact of the coronavirus. Concerns about the outbreak last week wiped more than $5tn (£3.9tn) from global stocks
• US sportswear giant Nike has closed its European headquarters in Hilversum in the Netherlands after an employee tested positive for the virus

Countries including Qatar, Ecuador, Luxembourg and Ireland all confirmed their first cases over the weekend. On Monday, Ecuador reported five new cases of the disease, bringing the total number of infected patients in the country to six.

The US state of New York has also confirmed its first case. The patient is a woman in her 30s who contracted the virus during a recent trip to Iran. Two people have died in the US, both in the state of Washington.

What’s the situation in China?

China on Monday reported 42 more deaths, all in Hubei. There were also 202 confirmed new cases – only six of which were outside Hubei.

A total of 2,912 people have died inside China, with more than 80,000 confirmed cases of the virus.

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A spokesman from China’s National Health Commission said the next stop would be to “focus on the risks brought by the resumption of work”.

China’s economy has taken a hit – with factory activity falling at a record rate.

On Monday, a man was sentenced to death by a Chinese court for fatally stabbing two officials at a virus checkpoint, news agency AFP reported.

Ma Jianguo, 23, refused to co-operate with officials – though it is not clear what he was told to do – and stabbed two checkpoint officials.

What has the WHO said?

On Sunday, the World Health Organization (WHO) said the virus appears to particularly affect those over 60, and people already ill.

It urged countries to stock up on ventilators, saying “oxygen therapy is a major treatment intervention for patients with severe Covid-19”.

In the first large analysis of more than 44,000 cases from China, the death rate was 10 times higher in the very elderly compared to the middle-aged.

But most patients have only mild symptoms and the death rate appears to be between 2% and 5%, the WHO said.

By comparison, the seasonal flu has an average mortality rate of about 0.1%, but is highly infectious – with up to 400,000 people dying from it each year.

Other strains of coronavirus, such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (Sars) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (Mers), have much higher death rates than Covid-19.

Source: www.bbc.com

The number of novel coronavirus cases in the world rose to 89,006, including 3,044 deaths, across 68 countries and territories by 0900 GMT Monday, according to a report gathered by AFP from official sources.

Since 1700 GMT Sunday, 749 new contaminations were identified.

China excluding the territories of Hong Kong and Macau where the epidemic emerged at the end of December, had 80,026 cases, of which 2,912 were fatal. There were 202 new infections and 42 deaths there between 1700 GMT Sunday and 0900 GMT Monday.

Outside of China, a total of 8,980 cases have been recorded around the world since the epidemic began, including 131 deaths.

There have been 547 new cases outside China since Sunday at 1700 GMT.

The most affected countries after China are South Korea (4,212 cases, 22 deaths, 476 new cases), Italy (1,694 cases, 34 deaths, no new cases), Iran (978 cases, 54 deaths, no new cases) and Japan (239 cases, 12 deaths).

Japan has also recorded more than 700 cases aboard the cruise ship Diamond Princess moored off Yokohama.

This assessment was carried out using data collected by AFP offices from the competent national authorities and information from the World Health Organization.

Source: punchng.com

A Chinese court has sentenced a man to death for fatally stabbing two officials at a checkpoint set up to control the spread of the new coronavirus outbreak.

The virus has infected more than 80,000 people and killed nearly 3,000 in mainland China — prompting a wide network of temperature checks, travel restrictions, residential checks and closures nationwide.

Many villages and communities have also implemented their own blockades and tough measures to keep people out, fearful that travellers could infect their communities.

On Sunday a court handed down a death sentence to a 23-year-old man after he stabbed two officials at one local village checkpoint.

The incident happened on February 6 when Ma Jianguo was driving a minivan through a checkpoint at Luo Meng village in Honghe, southwestern Yunnan province, where he was stopped.

After Ma refused to cooperate with officials, his passenger began trying to remove the roadblock, the court said, and the local official started filming Ma and the other man on his mobile phone.

A furious Ma stabbed the official — a local poverty alleviation cadre — in the chest and abdomen with a knife he carried with him and then attacked another official who came to the victim’s aid.

The two men died from their wounds.

The court statement said that although Ma had “voluntarily surrendered and truthfully confessed”, the killings were “extremely vicious”.

The number of deaths globally in the new coronavirus outbreak passed 3,000 on Monday, as China reported more 42 deaths.

The new fatalities were all in the virus epicentre Hubei province, the National Health Commission said, bringing the overall toll in mainland China to 2,912.

Health officials also reported the lowest daily tally of fresh infections since late January, with 202 new cases.

In China, the number of reported new cases has gradually been declining, and there were only six confirmed new infections outside Hubei.

The virus emerged late last year in Hubei in central China, but has now spread to more than 60 countries around the world.

The United States and Australia reported their first fatalities over the weekend, while infections nearly doubled in the past 48 hours in Italy, Europe’s hardest-hit country.

The World Health Organization said Sunday that the virus appears to particularly hit those over the age of 60 and people already weakened by other illness.

The agency noted that most people with the COVID-19 illness only experience mild symptoms, while around 14 percent suffer severe disease like pneumonia and five percent become critically ill.

It said the mortality rate in the outbreak appears to be between two and five percent.

The seasonal flu has an average mortality rate of about 0.1 percent but is highly infectious, with up to 400,000 people worldwide dying from it each year.

Other strains of coronavirus, such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), have established mortality rates of 9.5 percent and 34.5 percent, respectively.

Source: reuters.com

The leader of a religious sect in South Korea could face a homicide investigation over some of the country’s coronavirus deaths.

The city government of the capital Seoul has asked prosecutors to charge Lee Man-hee, the founder of the Shincheonji Church, and 11 others.

They are accused of hiding the names of some members as officials tried to track patients before the virus spread.

South Korea is battling the worst coronavirus outbreak outside China.

The country has reported 3,730 cases and 21 deaths so far. More than half of all infections involve members of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, a fringe Christian group.

Authorities say Shincheonji members infected one another in the southern city of Daegu last month, before fanning out around the country.

What’s happening in South Korea?

On Sunday the Seoul City government filed a legal complaint to prosecutors against 12 leaders of the sect. They are accused of homicide, causing harm and violating the Infectious Disease and Control Act.

The BBC’s Laura Bicker in Seoul says the complaint reflects growing public anger towards the religious group. Its leader Lee Man-hee claims he is the Messiah.

All 230,000 members of the church have been interviewed. Nearly 9,000 said they were showing symptoms of coronavirus.

A 61-year-old female member of the sect who tested positive for the virus was among the first to be infected.

She initially refused to be taken to a hospital to be tested and is known to have attended several church gatherings before testing positive.

Mr Lee has also been tested for the virus and is awaiting the results.

Roman Catholic churches remain closed, major Protestant groups have cancelled Sunday services and all Buddhist events have been called off.

Who is Lee Man-hee?

Lee Man-hee, 88, claims he is the second coming of Jesus Christ and identifies as “the promised pastor” mentioned in the Bible.

He founded the Shincheonji Church in 1984. In Korean, Shincheonji means “new heaven and earth”.

 

The group is considered a cult by many. Mr Lee’s followers believe he will take 144,000 people to heaven with him.

The church says it has more than 20,000 followers outside of South Korea including in China, Japan and areas of Southeast Asia.

The group is known for packing its followers tightly together during services. Glasses, necklaces and earrings are reportedly banned from services.

What about the rest of the world?

More than 85,403 cases of the new coronavirus have been confirmed in over 50 countries, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

The global death toll is more than 2,900. The vast majority of infections and deaths are in China.

On Sunday, Australia and Thailand also recorded their first fatalities from the coronavirus.

A 78-year-old Australian man died after being infected on the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan last month.

Thailand, which has had 42 cases of the virus, said a 35-year-old man who died was also suffering from dengue fever.

In Paris, the Louvre museum did not open on Sunday. The museum said on Twitter a meeting was being held on the public health situation and “the museum cannot open at the moment”.

France has banned all indoor gatherings of more than 5,000 people, as part of efforts to contain the coronavirus outbreak.

• The US on Saturday reported the first death in the country, in the state of Washington. Officials said the patient was a man in his 50s with underlying health conditions
• Iran reported 385 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, bringing the total to 978 so far. The death toll rose to 54
• Italy – the worst-hit country Europe – says it will introduce measures worth 3.6bn euros (£3.10bn) to deal with the economic impact of the outbreak