Daegu City on High Alert Following Suspected Wuhan Pneumonia Case

Notice on Prevention of Wuhan Pneumonia.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Ju-cheol In] Daegu City announced on the 28th that it is operating a 24-hour emergency response by holding an emergency countermeasure meeting for the novel coronavirus infection (Wuhan pneumonia) and operating an emergency quarantine task force.

Active surveillance targets are people who have visited Wuhan within the last 14 days but currently have no fever, cough, or respiratory symptoms and therefore do not qualify for testing. The local health centers at their actual residences are closely monitoring their fever status twice daily.

As the entire region of China has been designated as a quarantine contamination area, the city has strengthened monitoring by conducting fever checks and requiring health status questionnaires from all passengers arriving from China to detect suspected cases early at the point of entry.

Additionally, the city distributed 200,000 promotional leaflets focused on multi-use facilities such as airports, train stations, subway stations, and apartment complexes to educate citizens on infection prevention behavior guidelines. They are also actively promoting prevention and reporting guidance through emergency disaster text messages, TV broadcast captions, and Dalgu-beol Miso text messages.

The city has established screening clinics at health centers in eight districts/counties, Daegu Medical Center, and Kyungpook National University Hospital to provide diagnosis and testing when suspected patients occur. A rapid response team is organized to be dispatched 24/7 whenever a suspected patient is reported.

Furthermore, the city has secured emergency supplies to provide hand sanitizers and masks at locations with high foot traffic to promote personal hygiene.

Kim Jae-dong, Director of the Daegu City Health and Welfare Bureau, stated, “For early detection and containment of the novel coronavirus infection, the cooperation of citizens is essential.” He urged, “Citizens who have recently visited China and exhibit suspicious symptoms such as pneumonia should not visit medical institutions first but must consult the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency or the local health center.”