Church Pulling All Non-native Missionaries Out of South Korea

[smac97]

Here:

Quote

All non-native missionaries in South Korea for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will be leaving the country amid a worldwide coronavirus outbreak.

According to a statement by the Church, the missionaries will return home and be given temporary assignments in their respective countries. This is in addition to missionaries who are close to the end of their service and those with chronic health problems, who have already returned home.

The missionaries will be asked to self-quarantine for 14 days, according to Church spokesperson Daniel Woodruff.

Those who are preparing to serve in Korea will either postpone their start date or get a temporary assignment.

The following missions will also be affected by coronavirus prevention efforts by the Church:

• Cambodia Phnom Penh Mission
• Japan Fukuoka Mission
• Japan Kobe Mission
• Japan Nagoya Mission
• Japan Sapporo Mission
• Japan Tokyo North Mission
• Japan Tokyo South Mission
• Korea Busan Mission
• Korea Seoul Mission
• Korea Seoul South Mission
• Mongolia Ulaanbaatar Mission
• Singapore Mission
• Thailand Bangkok Mission

Wow.

-Smac

[hope_for_things]

38 minutes ago, smac97 said:

Here:

Wow.

-Smac

One thought I had was this might put people in Utah at risk.  Considering the large number of missionaries coming back to Utah, self quarantining might not be all that effective.  If they even hug their family and friends when they return, that might be enough to spread something.  

[Duncan]

I wonder if it's okay for native South Korean Missionaries to be exposed? why aren't they transferred out?

[Oliblish]

I talked to someone yesterday who has a son in South Korea.  They received a call yesterday notifying them that their son is supposed to arrive home sometime today and would need to self-quarantine.  

I think Smac summed it up nicely:  Wow.

As for the other non-Korea missions listed, are they all staying in country in quarantine in their apartments?

[pogi]

41 minutes ago, hope_for_things said:

One thought I had was this might put people in Utah at risk.  Considering the large number of missionaries coming back to Utah, self quarantining might not be all that effective.  If they even hug their family and friends when they return, that might be enough to spread something.  

Not to mention the plane ride.  How do you quarantine someone on an airplane?  

[pogi]

1 hour ago, smac97 said:

Here:

Wow.

-Smac

I am shocked it took this long!  They evacuated Hong Kong missionaries with only a dozen reported cases in that country.  South Korea has over 6,000 cases.  

[hope_for_things]

16 minutes ago, pogi said:

Not to mention the plane ride.  How do you quarantine someone on an airplane?  

Exactly.  I imagine they are hoping to get these missionaries out of the country before they are infected, but thinking about what missionary work was like when I served, they would be very much at risk for having the virus already.  Shaking hands all day with lots of people. 

[strappinglad]

I am of 2 minds about this. On the one hand I see the need to protect missionaries. On the other I am troubled by the idea that at the first sign of trouble we run for the hills. What happened to " mourn with those who mourn and comfort those in need of comforting ", let alone using priesthood power to heal where possible ? 

Imagine the PR disaster if returning missionaries are found to be the center for more infections. The Church should quarantine all missionaries in one place for 14 days and charter planes to bring them in. 

[Ginger Snaps]

I have a friend with a son serving in Cambodia (not sure which mission or if there is more than one?). He’s been under quarantine since Feb 22. 

[pogi]

34 minutes ago, hope_for_things said:

Exactly.  I imagine they are hoping to get these missionaries out of the country before they are infected, but thinking about what missionary work was like when I served, they would be very much at risk for having the virus already.  Shaking hands all day with lots of people. 

There is no way of knowing if they are already infected or not. They could be asymptomatic carriers or in early stages of incubation.  The concern is that this is transmittable before symptoms appear, so it could be spread on the plane.  The safest way to prevent transmission in Utah would be to quarantine before getting on the plane, and after (in case they became infected in the airport or on the plane). 

You are right about missionaries being at high risk though.  Hand shaking, public transportation, being out with the people...

Edited March 6, 2020 by pogi

[bluebell]

1 hour ago, Duncan said:

I wonder if it's okay for native South Korean Missionaries to be exposed? why aren't they transferred out?

I don't think the church has the authority to transfer people out of their country of citizenship, especially a country that is experiencing a coronavirus outbreak.  I would imagine that no other country would take them.

[bluebell]

6 minutes ago, pogi said:

There is no way of knowing if they are already infected or not. They could be asymptomatic carriers or in early stages of incubation.  The concern is that this is transmittable before symptoms appear, so it could be spread on the plane.  The safest way to prevent transmission in Utah would be to quarantine before getting on the plane, and after (in case they became infected in the airport or on the plane). 

You are right about missionaries being at high risk though.  Hand shaking, public transportation, being out with the people...

My friend's son is currently serving there (or was) and she mentioned that the missionaries have been quarantined in their houses for a couple of weeks.  So that should help.

[Calm]

1 hour ago, Oliblish said:

I talked to someone yesterday who has a son in South Korea.  They received a call yesterday notifying them that their son is supposed to arrive home sometime today and would need to self-quarantine.  

I think Smac summed it up nicely:  Wow.

As for the other non-Korea missions listed, are they all staying in country in quarantine in their apartments?

A few weeks ago Missionaries in the Singapore mission were sent to finish their missions in their home country as the mission president believed they were wasting time too much by having to be cooped up in their apartments, not even attending Church, even if they could do missionary work online.  Makes sense as this isn't going to go away in weeks or even a few months.  

[bsjkki]

Good call. Glad to see the are requiring self quarantine. 

[Calm]

Better to pull them out now with low/lower chance of infection than to wait until high chance.

In Singapore the first confirmed cases were mostly from a Christian school.  This was at the same time as when South Korea had its bad hit of 800? cases from a particular Christian church.  My sister in law told me she figured our church leaders suspended church meetings two or three weeks ago (have to check my email) as much to demonstrate to the government they were cooperating to help slow the spread for safety reasons (at 10 cases at that time iirc, meetings were still very low risk).

Edited March 6, 2020 by Calm

[mrmarklin]

Seems ridiculous to me.  Where is safe ?????

And are S Korean missionaries valued less, somehow??

Among young people the mortality rate is very low, assuming good health.

[Calm]

30 minutes ago, mrmarklin said:

nd are S Korean missionaries valued less, somehow??

They more then likely don't have documents to leave the country or enter into other ones, their families may prefer they stay near them.  They also likely lack the ability to support themselves if they get transferred to another safer country and get stuck there for months and their missions there are completely shut down.

Why ruin a decent relationship with a government by insisting foreigners have a right to stay in their country as long as they want, attend meetings, etc. when that government is already stressing out big time.

Nowhere will likely be ultimately safe unless a vaccine is developed very quickly, but the longer you can put off getting infected, the better chance that if you go down hard doctors will know effective treatments to pull you back up.

Plus governments that offer national health care probably don't want their services furthered burdened by foreigners having to use them.

Quote

Among young people the mortality rate is very low, assuming good health.

There is also the issue of moral among Missionaries on lockdown.  From what I heard in Singapore, it was rather low.  Unhappy, bored, and cabin fevered youth are prone to break rules and while it may be no big deal if they get infected, what about the people they are in contact with, especially if elderly (I can imagine Missionaries thinking they are helping by visiting the older and more infirm in their areas, worried about them being isolated).

Edited March 7, 2020 by Calm

[bsjkki]

28 minutes ago, mrmarklin said:

Seems ridiculous to me.  Where is safe ?????

And are S Korean missionaries valued less, somehow??

Among young people the mortality rate is very low, assuming good health.

I think it is is better to bring them home if, under the circumstances, the work can not go forward. This could be just the beginning. It could happen here too. We just don’t know that yet. 

[rpn]

4 hours ago, Duncan said:

I wonder if it's okay for native South Korean Missionaries to be exposed? why aren't they transferred out?

The point is that a South Korean native has the kinds of support they need, but foreigners, not so much.   It isn't about protecting some and not others.

[Oliblish]

Updates...

Newsroom: COVID-19 and Its Impact on Latter-day Saints Around the World

Quote

UPDATED: March 9, 2020, 7:30 p.m. MDT

Missionary Work

All missionaries, regardless of where they are serving, have been reminded to follow basic preventative health practices to avoid illness. It is important to note that young missionaries are not generally considered to be at risk for serious complications from the coronavirus.

Missionaries who remain in those countries where COVID-19 is of particular concern will take precautions to stay healthy, including staying in their apartments as much as possible, avoiding personal interaction with other people and teaching through phone calls or other technology. Mission Presidents are communicating with families to let them know of these precautions and keep them updated on local circumstances.

The Church is taking steps to reduce the number of missionaries in areas where the virus is of particular concern. These steps will give mission presidents more flexibility to ensure missionaries are effective and safe and that there is adequate space to house missionaries if they are moved out of cities where there are greater concerns about infection.

These steps apply to the following missions:

• Cambodia Phnom Penh Mission
• Italy Milan Mission
• Japan Fukuoka Mission
• Japan Kobe Mission
• Japan Nagoya Mission
• Japan Sapporo Mission
• Japan Tokyo North Mission
• Japan Tokyo South Mission
• Korea Busan Mission
• Korea Seoul Mission
• Korea Seoul South Mission
• Mongolia Ulaanbaatar Mission
• Singapore Mission
• Thailand Bangkok Mission

Cambodia, Singapore, Thailand: All prospective missionaries preparing to serve in these missions or who come from those countries will either postpone their start date or receive a temporary assignment. Additionally, all missionaries serving in these missions who were nearing the end of their service have returned home early. All senior missionaries and any young missionaries with chronic health problems have also returned home or haven been temporarily reassigned to a mission in their home countries. Some senior missionaries will continue to support the mission remotely.

Japan: All missionaries preparing to serve in Japan will either postpone their start date or receive new temporary assignments.

Korea: All missionaries who are not native to Korea have left that country and returned home before departing for new temporary assignments in their home countries. This is in addition to those missionaries who were nearing the end of their service and those who had chronic health problems, who had already returned home early. All missionaries leaving the country had already been in self-isolation for some time and had avoided contact with others outside their apartments. Prospective missionaries preparing to serve in Korea or who come from that country will either postpone their start date or receive a temporary assignment.

Mongolia: All missionaries who are not native to Mongolia have been temporarily transferred from that country. Those who are nearing their scheduled release date have returned home early, while the rest have received new temporary assignments.

Each missionary who returns home will be asked to self-isolate for 14 days following instructions from the World Health Organization and the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

 

 

[bluebell]

On 3/6/2020 at 6:52 PM, rpn said:

The point is that a South Korean native has the kinds of support they need, but foreigners, not so much.   It isn't about protecting some and not others.

Not to mention that the church can't just transfer people out of a country into another country because it wants to.  Legal paperwork and visas have to be obtained, which can take months even when the country of origin isn't experiencing an outbreak.  

[The Nehor]

On 3/6/2020 at 4:45 PM, bluebell said:

I don't think the church has the authority to transfer people out of their country of citizenship, especially a country that is experiencing a coronavirus outbreak.  I would imagine that no other country would take them.

There is also the issue of getting them back home. Missionaries are generally young and in reasonably good health. The odds of it being unsafe to stay are minimal. The main concern is people being carriers and infecting those who are vulnerable.