On the morning of May 27, Mr. Nguyen Duy Tan, Head of the Religious Affairs Department (Ho Chi Minh City Department of Home Affairs) said that the activities of the Renaissance Missionary Church – where a cluster of Covid-19 infections had just been detected – were licensed to operate.
Regarding the activities of this sect, Pastor Phan Quang Thieu, General Secretary of the General Confederation of Protestant Churches of Vietnam (Southern region) said `the Renaissance Missionary sect is not part of any organization of the Church.`
Authorities blocked Nguyen Van Cong alley, Go Vap district, the entrance to the activities of the Renaissance Missionary Month Association, early in the morning of May 27.
According to the `Protestant Activity Registration Certificate` issued by the People’s Committee of Ward 3, Go Vap District in October 2006, the representative of the Renaissance Missionary Church is Mr. Phuong Van Tan, the person in charge and appointed
The number of participants allowed is 60 with religious activities including: prayer, worship, Bible study, fellowship, worship on holidays, Easter, Christmas, and passion.
Mr. Tan said that after a period of activities, the number of members gradually decreased, currently there are 28 people.
According to Mr. Tan, the pastor representing the Renaissance Missionary Church, since the official dispatch on epidemic prevention and control from the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee, the pastor has not gone on missionary trips outside, nor approached foreigners or believers.
Authorities blocked the 5-star Sheraton hotel (District 1) because the chef here was among a group of people testing positive related to the Renaissance Missionary Church outbreak.
Reporting at the meeting of the Ho Chi Minh City Anti-Epidemic Steering Committee this afternoon, Mr. Nguyen Tan Binh, Director of the Department of Health, said that through the investigation and tracing process, 25 positive cases related to the outbreak of the Tradition Church were recorded.
`These believers met in a cramped environment, so almost everyone who participated in the activities tested positive,` Mr. Binh said, `this outbreak appeared and spread before, maybe over two years ago.`
The Ho Chi Minh City Center for Disease Control (HCDC) has identified 403 people exposed to the missionary association outbreak.
HCDC assesses this as an ongoing chain of infection, detected by cases with symptoms of the disease being examined at the hospital.
As one of the cases being treated at the Tropical Hospital with symptoms of cough and difficulty breathing, answering the phone, a 27-year-old male church member said he often attended services at the house.
Quarantined in Cu Chi district, a 38-year-old woman said she has been active in the Renaissance Missionary Church for more than a decade.
Four chains of Covid-19 infection in Ho Chi Minh City.
Huu Cong – Dinh Van – Manh Tung
