Lee Man-hee, the leader of Shincheonji, was tested for nCoV infection today, an official from the sect said.

Earlier, Tan Thien Dia said Lee had isolated himself at his home in Gyeonggi Province, near the capital Seoul. South Korean health officials believe that more than half of all nCoV infections in the country are linked to Tan Thien Dia. They have started the nCoV test with 190,000 sectarian members, so the number of virus infections is likely to increase even more when the results are published.

In a statement sent to South Korean political leaders on March 1, Tan Thien Dia asked authorities not to portray them as a criminal organization. "We are working as hard as we can with local officials to prevent the spread of Covid-19," the notice said. "We would like your help so we can continue to cooperate in this effort."

The Covid-19 outbreak began in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province in China in December, and has now appeared in 64 countries and territories. The epidemic has infected nearly 87,000 people, nearly 3,000 died worldwide.

South Korea recorded the first case of nCoV on January 20. The situation was not so serious until February 18, when a 61-year-old Christian woman from the New Heavenly religion in Daegu was confirmed positive for nCoV. The number of infections in the following days soared, sometimes doubling or tripling in just one day, making Korea the second largest outbreak in the world after mainland China. South Korea to this afternoon recorded 3,736 positive cases of nCoV, including 18 deaths.