"'COVID-19' Patient No. 29 Is an Early Signal of Community Transmission"

Professor Lee Jae-gap / Photo by CBS Standard FM 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show' broadcast screen capture

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kang Juhee] As the 29th patient infected with the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has been confirmed, difficulties are emerging in tracing the infection route. Experts have warned of the possibility of community transmission.

On the 17th, Professor Lee Jaegab of the Department of Infectious Diseases at Hallym University Kangnam Sacred Heart Hospital appeared on CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyunjung's News Show' and said, "The Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say they cannot let their guard down, but the higher-ups keep making overly reassuring statements, which was worrying. Rather than being surprised, I thought this was a situation we had already been concerned about and that it was inevitable. We had been discussing how to prepare for this throughout last week," he said.

He continued, "Currently, the condition of the 29th patient is only known to be 'stable.' However, since the patient is elderly, I have heard that the medical staff are treating him with caution," he added.

Professor Lee said, "We have to wait until the epidemiological investigation results come out accurately, but from the perspective of medical institutions, this is a signal that it is time to prepare for community transmission. The 29th patient has no travel history to China. Since the initial symptoms were closer to myocardial infarction, all medical institutions have received a kind of sign that 'we can no longer consider patients based solely on travel history,' which has strengthened their preparedness," he explained.

Regarding the medical staff responding to the COVID-19 situation, he evaluated it as "quite well done." He said, "Our strength lies in having experienced situations during SARS and MERS, so we are well aware of the various repercussions that occur when patients are missed. Recognizing doctors' discretionary authority seems to have created a situation where early diagnosis is possible. This reflects that the quarantine measures and the preparedness of private medical institutions are functioning reasonably well," he expressed.

Professor Lee also mentioned the possibility that the quarantine network in Korea might have been breached. "Even if a link is found in the epidemiological investigation, it shows that such patients (like the 29th patient) can come to hospitals anyway," he said, emphasizing, "As for how clinics or small and medium-sized hospitals will prepare, they need to quickly start preparing and revising their response methods from now on."

Regarding the criteria for determining community transmission, he explained, "The point at which people without a history of travel to China or confirmed contact with confirmed patients begin to occur selectively is called the 'early stage of community transmission.' If many patients increase domestically without epidemiological links due to such patients, it becomes a full-scale spread phase. Therefore, it can be said that early signs of community transmission have begun to appear in our country as well."