Editing Shincheonji Church of Jesus (section)

===Shincheonji response===

In a press conference in early March 2020, the church's founder Lee Man-Hee publicly kneeled and bowed his head to the ground in a traditional Korean gesture of apology, apologized for church members unintentionally spreading the virus, and said that the church was cooperating with the government.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-03-02/kneeling-korea-s-sect-leader-seeks-forgiveness-for-virus-spike|publisher=Bloomberg|first=Jihye|last=Lee|date=March 2, 2020|title=Kneeling, Korea's Sect Leader Seeks Forgiveness for Virus Spike}}</ref>

In response to the negative media attention on Shincheonji, Lee Man-hee spoke publicly about being misunderstood or falsely accused.<ref name="PRI-2017-07-11"/> Shincheonji has been cited as the "most vilified group during pandemic."<ref name="NIH"/>

On August 26, 2020, the [[Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]] (KCDC) thanked Shincheonji for 562 of its congregation members donating plasma for COVID-19 treatment research, and requested collaboration with Shincheonji to hold a large-scale plasma donation drive from August 26, 2020, to September 4, 2020. An additional 1,100 Shincheonji members are estimated to donate plasma in collaboration with the KCDC.<ref name="Maeil">{{Cite news|url=https://www.mk.co.kr/news/society/view/2020/08/893615/|title=Quarantine authorities "Thank Shincheonji for donating plasma"|date=August 31, 2020|work=[[Maeil Business Newspaper]]}}</ref>

On September 16, 2020, Shincheonji held an interfaith online prayer meeting titled "COVID-19 Overcome Online Prayer Meeting" to pray for the speedy end of COVID-19.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.yahoo.com/news/shincheonji-church-gathers-faith-community-073210063.html|title=Shincheonji Church Gathers the Faith Community to Bring Hope Through Prayer|date=18 September 2020|newspaper=[[Yahoo! News]]|access-date=30 September 2020|archive-date=2 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201002115540/https://www.yahoo.com/news/shincheonji-church-gathers-faith-community-073210063.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

On September 26, 2020, Shincheonji's volunteer association began a ‘prevention volunteering’ campaign, with Shincheonji members volunteering to sanitize shopping districts and passing out hand sanitizers and masks to local businesses.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.ksilbo.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=774269|title=Shincheonji Volunteer Association in Ul-San Region, Volunteer in Coronavirus Prevention Efforts As Fall Thanksgiving Holiday Nears|date=27 September 2020|newspaper=[[:kr:경상일보]]}}</ref>

On November 3, 2020, the KCDC announced that starting from the 16th of November, there will be approximately 4,000 additional recovered COVID-19 patients from Shincheonji who will donate their plasma for the development of a treatment.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://news.imaeil.com/Society/2020110317384945315|title=4,000 Additional Shincheonji Congregants to Donate Plasma... The KCDC expresses deep thanks|date=3 November 2020|newspaper=[[:kr:매일신문]]}}</ref>

Over the course of 2 rounds of large-scale plasma donation drives with Shincheonji, a total of 2,798 members agreed to participate in the drive, and 2,030 successfully donated plasma. From the Daegu Church of Shincheonji, 1,700 congregation members donated plasma over the course of July and August of this year<!-- NOTE: "this year" should give an actual year. -->. The Director of the KCDC expressed his deep gratitude towards Shincheonji for actively participating in the plasma drive.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://news.kbs.co.kr/news/view.do?ncd=5039972|title=4,000 from Shincheonji to Donate Plasma for Treatment Development|date=3 November 2020|newspaper=[[Korean Broadcasting System]]}}</ref>