on 31 january, a seventh patient was reported as a 28-year-old south korean man returning from wuhan on 23 january. he developed symptoms on 26 january 2020 and was admitted to hospital on 28 january. on the same day, four more patients were admitted into the record. the eighth patient, a 62-year-old south korean woman, returned from wuhan. the ninth patient caught the virus from the fifth patient through direct contact. the tenth and the eleventh patients were the wife and child of the sixth patient, who became infected while visiting him. on 1 february, a 49-year-old chinese national working in japan as a tour guide was confirmed as the twelfth patient. he caught the virus while visiting a japanese patient in japan and entered south korea through gimpo international airport on 19 january. the kcdc confirmed an additional three cases on 2 february, bringing the total to fifteen. a woman who had returned from a five-day vacation in thailand tested positive and was confirmed as the sixteenth case on 4 february. three more cases were confirmed on 5 february, taking the total to 19. the seventeenth and nineteenth patients had attended a conference in singapore and been in contact with an infected individual there. the same day the kcdc announced that the second patient had been released from hospital after testing negative in consecutive tests, becoming the country's first coronavirus patient to fully recover. on 15 february, a workshop for fitness dance instructors was held in cheonan. by 9 march, dance classes at 12 sport facilities were associated with 112 cases of covid-19. 30 of the cases were asymptomatic at the time of laboratory confirmation. 50.9 percent of cases were from instructors to fitness class participants, 33.9 percent were transmissions to family members by instructors or class participants, and 15.2 percent were during meetings with acquaintances or coworkers. details of the first 30 confirmed cases in south korea (as of 17 february 2020) case date age gender nationality place of stay hospital of admission visited wuhan? entry date status contacts of the case note source 1 20 january 2020 35 female chinese incheon incheon metropolitan city medical center, incheon yes 19 january 2020 discharged (6 february 2020) 45 2 24 january 2020 55 male korean seoul national medical center, seoul yes 22 january 2020 discharged (5 february 2020) 75 3 26 january 2020 54 male korean goyang myongji hospital, goyang yes 20 january 2020 discharged (12 february 2020) 16 4 27 january 2020 55 male korean pyeongtaek seoul national university bundang hospital, seongnam yes 20 january 2020 discharged (9 february 2020) 95 5 30 january 2020 33 male korean seoul seoul metropolitan city seoul medical center, seoul yes 24 january 2020 discharged (march 2020) 31 6 30 january 2020 55 male korean seoul seoul national university hospital, seoul no (infection in domestic) discharged (19 february 2020) 17 friend of case 3 7 30 january 2020 28 male korean seoul seoul metropolitan city seoul medical center, seoul yes 23 january 2020 discharged (15 february 2020) 9 8 31 january 2020 62 female korean gunsan wonkwang university hospital, iksan yes 23 january 2020 discharged (12 february 2020) 113 9 31 january 2020 28 female korean seoul seoul metropolitan city seoul medical center, seoul no (infection in domestic) discharged (24 february 2020) 2 friend of case 5 10 31 january 2020 54 female korean seoul seoul national university hospital, seoul no (infection in domestic) discharged (19 february 2020) 43 wife of case 6 11 31 january 2020 25 male korean seoul seoul national university hospital, seoul no (infection in domestic) discharged (10 february 2020) 43 son of case 6 12 1 february 2020 48 male chinese bucheon seoul national university bundang hospital, seongnam no 19 january 2020 (japan) discharged (18 february 2020) 422 related to japanese confirmed case 13 2 february 2020 28 male korean asan national medical center, seoul yes 31 january 2020 discharged (24 february 2020) 0 passenger on the evacuation flights from wuhan 14 2 february 2020 40 female chinese bucheon seoul national university bundang hospital, seongnam no (infection in domestic) discharged (18 february 2020) 3 wife of case 12 15 2 february 2020 43 male korean suwon korean armed forces capital hospital, seongnam yes 20 january 2020 discharged (24 february 2020) 15 16 4 february 2020 42 female korean gwangju chonnam national university hospital, gwangju no 19 january 2020 (thailand) discharged (19 february 2020) 450 17 5 february 2020 37 male korean guri myongji hospital, goyang no 24 january 2020 (singapore) discharged (12 february 2020) 290 related to cases at grand hyatt singapore 18 5 february 2020 20 female korean gwangju chonnam national university hospital, gwangju no 19 january 2020 (thailand) discharged (19 february 2020) 8 daughter of case 16 19 5 february 2020 36 male korean seoul seoul metropolitan city seoul medical center, seoul no 23 january 2020 (singapore) discharged (21 february 2020) 68 related to cases at grand hyatt singapore 20 5 february 2020 41 female korean suwon korean armed forces capital hospital, seongnam no (infection in domestic) discharged (24 february 2020) 2 sister-in-law of case 15 21 5 february 2020 59 female korean seoul seoul national university hospital, seoul no (infection in domestic) discharged (29 february 2020) 6 friend of case 6 22 6 february 2020 46 male korean naju chosun university hospital, gwangju no (infection in domestic) discharged (15 february 2020) 1 brother of case 16 23 6 february 2020 57 female chinese seoul national medical center, seoul yes 23 january 2020 discharged (29 february 2020) 23 24 6 february 2020 28 male korean asan national medical center, seoul yes 31 january 2020 discharged (27 february 2020) 0 passenger on the evacuation flights from wuhan 25 9 february 2020 73 female korean siheung seoul national university bundang hospital, seongnam no (infection in domestic) discharged (5 march 2020) 12 mother of case 26 26 9 february 2020 51 male korean siheung gyeonggi provincial medical center anseong hospital, anseong no 31 january 2020 (guangdong) discharged (8 march 2020) 12 27 9 february 2020 37 female chinese siheung gyeonggi provincial medical center anseong hospital, anseong no 31 january 2020 (guangdong) discharged (7 march 2020) 38 wife of case 26 28 10 february 2020 30 female chinese goyang myongji hospital, goyang yes 20 january 2020 discharged (17 february 2020) 1 friend of case 3 29 16 february 2020 82 male korean seoul seoul national university hospital, seoul no (infection in domestic) discharged (march 2020) 117 friend of case 83 30 16 february 2020 68 female korean seoul seoul national university hospital, seoul no (infection in domestic) discharged (march 2020) 27 wife of case 29 18 february – 29 february shincheonji daegu church on 18 february, south korea confirmed its 31st case in daegu, a member of the shincheonji religious organisation. the patient continued to go to gatherings of shincheonji days after showing symptoms, which are typically held with people in very close proximity and include physical contact of the members. many of the patient's close contacts would turn out to be infected, triggering a drastic escalation of the south korean spread of confirmed cases of sars-cov-2 infection. on 19 february, the number of confirmed cases increased by 20. on 20 february 70 new cases were confirmed, giving a total of 104 confirmed cases, according to the kcdc. according to reuters, kcdc attributed the sudden jump of 70 cases linked to "patient no. 31", who had participated in a gathering in daegu at the shincheonji church of jesus the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony. on 20 february, the streets of daegu were empty in reaction to the shincheonji outbreak. a resident described the reaction, stating "it's like someone dropped a bomb in the middle of the city. it looks like a zombie apocalypse." the first death was reported in a mental ward of cheongdo daenam hospital in cheongdo county. according to the mayor of daegu, the number of suspected cases as of 21 february was 544 among 4,400 examined followers of the church. the hospital was suspected as the source of the present outbreak after it was visited by a woman who became the second fatal case of south korea on that day. upon investigation, it was determined that the infection had spread to that hospital through a funeral ceremony attended by members of the church. all south korean military bases were on lockdown after tests confirmed three soldiers to be positive for the virus. airlines cut connections and cultural schedules were canceled due to fears of further spread. united states forces korea raised the alert level from low to moderate and cut off non-essential travel to and from usfk daegu. usfk daegu's school facilities were closed and non-essential personnel were ordered to stay at home while any visitors going there were not allowed to enter. usfk announced that the widow of a retired soldier who was in daegu was diagnosed to be positive for the virus on 24 february. camp humphreys enacted virus detection protocols, including temperature checks and raised the alert level to high. on 26 february, an american soldier based at camp carroll was diagnosed to be positive and was quarantined away from bases via off-base housing unit with contact tracing done that showed his movements to camp walker. as of 22 february, among 9,336 followers of the church, 1,261 reported symptoms. at the time, 169 confirmed cases involved the same church and another 111 came from the cheongdo daenam hospital. 23 february saw another 123 cases with 75 being from shincheonji and 24 february saw 161 additional cases with 129 being from the same religious group. over 27,000 people have been tested for the virus with 19,127 negative results. on 24 february, 15 countries imposed travel restrictions to and from south korea. it was reported that a senior health official overseeing the covid-19 efforts in daegu tested positive and was also a member of shincheonji. within a few days, a petition to the nation's president urging for the disbandment of the church had over 750,000 signatures. their headquarters in gwacheon was raided by law enforcement and government officials said all 245,000 members of the religious group would be found and tested. on 28 february, over 2,000 confirmed cases were reported. march on 2 march, there were over 4,200 confirmed cases. with an additional 4,000 cases of covid-19 within two weeks, and roughly 60% of the total infections nationwide having stemmed from the church, the seoul city government asked prosecutors to press charges against the religious group's founder and senior members for murder, causing harm, and for violating the infectious disease control and prevention act. interviews have occurred with all 230,000 members of the religious group and nearly 9,000 were said to be showing symptoms of the virus. due to the number of infections in the country, ninety-five countries have banned or limited entry for south korean passport holders. testing is also conducted at drive-through testing sites where patients do not leave their vehicles, but are met by medical personnel in hazmat suits over several stations. the process is completed in a few minutes and results come in several days. on 8 march, kcdc in south korea announced that 79.4% of confirmed covid-19 cases were related to group infection. kcdc also announced that outbreak associated with shincheonji church totaled 4,482 infections, accounting for 62.8% of the total confirmed cases. 13 march was the first time since the outbreak on 20 january in which the number of recoveries, 177, was larger than the number of those who newly tested positive, 110. however, with the recent cluster of cases in the seoul capital area, there are new fears that infections may rise sharply. the controversy about shincheonji also continued and generated international interest. after the lawsuit started by the mayor of seoul, the police raided the church premises to check whether the list of members supplied by shincheonji pursuant to a request by the authorities was, as the mayor argued, not complete. the authorities checked the list seized during the raid with the one shincheonji had supplied and concluded that discrepancies were minor. the united states commission on international religious freedom (uscirf) expressed concern that religious freedom rights of shincheonji members may be violated in south korea by "exaggerating the church's role in the