Health Authorities: "40s Male Who Died After Traveling to Vietnam Tests Negative for COVID-19" (Update)

Jung Eun-kyung, Director of the Central Disease Control Headquarters (Director of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency), is holding a regular briefing on the afternoon of the 17th at the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency in Cheongju, Chungbuk, regarding the domestic status of COVID-19 cases and the interim investigation results of confirmed patients.

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] The Central Disease Control Headquarters announced on the 17th that the man who died at Busan Medical Center after traveling to Vietnam was confirmed not to have been infected with the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

At a briefing that day, Director Jeong Eun-kyung said, "The COVID-19 test conducted on the man who died at Busan Medical Center came back negative," adding, "He was not a suspected COVID-19 case and died from other causes, but since he had traveled to Vietnam, the test was conducted for safety reasons."

The man in his 40s who had traveled to Vietnam was transported to Busan Medical Center by the 119 emergency medical team that morning but passed away. Although he did not show fever symptoms, health authorities temporarily closed the hospital emergency room and requested a COVID-19 test considering his overseas travel history.

Previously in Japan, a patient who died after being diagnosed with pneumonia tested positive for COVID-19 posthumously. The patient was an woman in her 80s who reportedly had no history of overseas travel. This was also the first death case in Japan.

Our health authorities plan to focus on early detection by allowing COVID-19 diagnostic tests for cases of pneumonia of unknown cause based on physicians' opinions. However, they clarified that not all patients who die from pneumonia will be tested for COVID-19. Director Jeong stated, "While testing can be done after death in the future, it means that testing will be conducted before reaching the stage of death."