The deadly novel coronavirus is accelerating its spread to multiple countries outside of China, particularly South Korea and Iran. The two countries have seen a sharp increase in the number of cases and deaths related to Covid-19, and there appears to be one common link between the spread of the virus in the two regions: Religion.

South Korea has confirmed over 4,000 cases in the country, with nearly 60 percent of the cases linked to the sect members of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus. Out of the confirmed cases in the country, nearly 75 percent of them are from the southern city of Daegu and 73% of those have been linked to the Shincheonji Church.

It is believed that the members of the church allegedly infected each other and then traveled across the country undetected. The fringe Christian group has also been accused of keeping the details of its members secret, making it difficult for authorities to track the spread of the outbreak. At least 28 people have died in the country because of the virus as of Tuesday.

Church spokesperson Kim Shin-chang, in a statement to BBC, however, said that they have now provided the details to the authorities: "We were worried about releasing this information because of the safety of our members." Seoul authorities have asked Lee Man-hee, the head of the church, to be charged with murder in association with the coronavirus deaths in the country. The announcement came a day before Lee got down to his knees and offered a public apology for his role in the spread of the disease.

Meanwhile, Iran is also witnessing an alarming increase in the number of coronaviruses cases and has the highest mortality rate of the disease in the world. The country reported the spread of the deadly virus to twenty-four of its thirty-one provinces within just eight days of the first death reported because of Covid-19. The country has reported nearly 1,500 cases of the virus and 66 confirmed deaths.

Iran, however, has taken a strange measure in contrast to the ones being taken across the world. The head of a popular shrine in the religious center of Qom — the epicenter of coronavirus cases in Iran — has encouraged more pilgrims to continue coming there. The representative of Iran’s Supreme Leader in Qom, Mohammad Saeedi, recently released a video, saying: "We consider this holy shrine to be a place of healing. That means people should come here to heal from spiritual and physical diseases."

Shortly after the release of the video, multiple Iranians took to social media to post videos of themselves licking the doors and a burial mound at the Fatima Masumeh Shrine in Qom to encourage people to visit the site. Pilgrims in Qom routinely kiss and lick religious shrines, which is considered a "place of healing."

The religious practice, however, could prove fatal for a lot of residents amid the outbreak.

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