Anchor: South Korea saw the number of new COVID-19 infections rise to almost 200 on Sunday. What’s worrying health officials even more is the fact that the bulk of the latest cases were reported in the capital Seoul and surrounding Gyeonggi Province, which are home to more than half of the country’s population.
Meanwhile, the pastor of a church in northern Seoul accused of instructing his followers to join a huge anti-government rally over the weekend despite COVID-19 fears, has been found to have contracted the virus himself.
Sam Len reports.
  
Report: The latest COVID-19 infection figures in South Korea have prompted quarantine officials to scramble into emergency mode.
 
On Sunday alone, 197 new cases of COVID-19 infections were reported in South Korea with 188 of them being local transmissions. What’s even more alarming is that most of the local transmissions occurred in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province, which surrounds the capital.
 
Vice Health Minister Kim Gang-lip explained Monday that 89 of the latest cases were reported in Seoul and 67 in Gyeonggi Province.
 
[Sound bite: Vice Health Minister Kim Gang-lip (Korean/English translation)]
“The number of new infection cases remains in the triple digits for the third-straight day with Seoul posting 89 and Gyeonggi 67. We are seeing a chain reaction of secondary infections traced to churches, coffee shops, restaurants and offices, displaying the early signs of another large-scale epidemic.”
 
This isn’t the first time that South Korea saw sharp rises in clusters of COVID-19 infections. A large number of cluster infections erupted in the southeastern city of Daegu in March and the Itaewon club district of Seoul in May of this year. But the maximum daily cases of infections did not surpass 70 back then.
 
The rate of growth with the latest cases is alarming health officials. During the massive outbreak involving Shincheonji churches in February, the number of daily infections surged 50 times, from 16 to more than 900, in just nine days. The number of new infections this time increased ten-fold in just six days.
 
Protestant Christian churches boasting large congregations are at the center of the latest cluster infections in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province.
 
The number of infections traced to one church in northern Seoul rose from 249 to 315 in just one day. Another church south of Seoul also reported 126 COVID-19 infections.
  
Making matters worse, more than tens of thousands of people gathered in downtown Seoul on Saturday to hold an anti-government protest. The gathering was attended by far-right groups, including the pastor and members of Sarang Jeil Church, the church in northern Seoul that reported 315 COVID-19 infections. The pastor, Jun Kwang-hoon, meanwhile, tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday.

City officials had banned large gatherings due to COVID-19 concerns, but organizers pushed ahead with the rally.
 
[Sound bite: Vice Health Minister Kim Gang-lip (Korean/English translation)]
“There are fears of infections spread among Sarang Jeil Church members who took part in the downtown rally on Saturday. Those who participated in the rally showing fevers or coughing symptoms are advised to get inspected immediately at the nearest test center.”
 
The Seoul city and Gyeonggi provincial governments have raised the social-distancing requirement to "Level Two," banning both public and private events involving 50 or more people indoors or 100 or more people outdoors. 

The government said it will secure more than 500 additional hospital beds as it braces for a continued surge in COVID-19 infections. It will also consider raising the social-distancing requirement to “Level Three” for the first time, requiring Internet cafes, churches and wedding halls to close down temporarily.
Sam Len, KBS World Radio News.