SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korean health authorities said on Tuesday the leader of a religious sect has tested negative for coronavirus, after he was taken to a “drive-through” test site late on Monday amid scrutiny over how his church became the center of the outbreak.
Lee Man-hee, founder of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony, does a deep bow during a news conference at its facility in Gapyeong, South Korea, March 2, 2020. Yonhap via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS – THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. SOUTH KOREA OUT. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVE. TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
Lee Man-hee, who founded and heads the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, apologized on Monday and called the epidemic a “great calamity” but refused to be tested by public authorities until a local governor threatened to drag him by force to be tested.
A member of a branch of the church, known as Patient 31, was the f