'High Fever but Roaming Downtown Daegu' Movements of Patient No. 31 Revealed One After Another... Hospitals and Hotels Closed Consecutively

First Case in Yeongnam Region Raises Concerns of Additional Infections... Residents on Edge
Daegu City Cancels All Public Events, 8 Suseong-gu Libraries Closed
Gangnam Health Center Conducts Disinfection at Seminar Hall and C Club Headquarters Visited by Confirmed Case

On the afternoon of the 18th, the doors of the negative pressure ward at Daegu Medical Center in Jungri-dong, Seo-gu, Daegu, where the 31st confirmed case of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) was admitted, were firmly closed, with only medical staff coming and going. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Seon-ae] As the movement paths of the first confirmed case of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) in the Yeongnam region are gradually revealed, concerns about additional infections within the area are growing, leading to a series of closures of facilities visited by the patient.

On the 18th, the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCH) announced at a regular briefing held at the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency in Osong, Chungbuk, that a 61-year-old Korean woman with no overseas travel history tested positive for COVID-19. The patient was isolated and admitted to Daegu Medical Center, which has designated inpatient treatment beds.

According to Daegu City and the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, the 31st patient, Ms. A, was hospitalized alone in a four-person room on the 6th floor of Saeronan Korean Medicine Hospital in Beomeo-dong, Suseong-gu, Daegu, from the 7th to the 17th after suffering a traffic accident on the 6th.

During this period, Ms. A attended worship services twice at the Shincheonji Daegu Church in Nam-gu and had a meal with an acquaintance at the Queen Bell Hotel in Dong-gu on the 15th.

According to the hospital, Ms. A exhibited high fever symptoms on the 8th and underwent a flu test, which came back negative. However, a flu test conducted three days later showed results described as an "intermediate stage between negative and positive." Consequently, the hospital performed a CT scan on the 15th, and upon detecting pneumonia symptoms, recommended Ms. A to get tested at the public health center.

However, Ms. A refused testing, stating she had never met a confirmed patient nor traveled abroad. As her fever persisted, the hospital persuaded her on the 17th to visit the Suseong-gu Public Health Center, where she was subsequently confirmed positive for COVID-19.

On the day news of the COVID-19 case in Daegu broke, the hospital blocked the building entrance with private vehicles from the morning and closed the parking lot entrance. Additionally, the remaining 33 patients in the hospital were scheduled to be transferred to Daegu Medical Center within the day. A response team dispatched by the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters is investigating whether other facilities within the hospital building have been contaminated.

They have also begun analyzing closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage to verify Ms. A’s movement paths, including hospital entry and elevator use. The pharmacy and Shinhan Credit Union Beomeo branch located on the first floor of the same building have temporarily closed.

The Beomeo branch, staffed by seven employees, closed at 10 a.m., and all employees are set to undergo a two-week self-quarantine.

Emergency measures have also been implemented at the Suseong-gu Public Health Center and the hotel visited by Ms. A. The health center disinfected the entire facility twice, once the previous night and again in the morning, and has closed the customer service offices on floors 1 through 3. Eleven individuals, including staff and public service workers who had contact with Ms. A, have been placed under self-quarantine.

The Queen Bell Hotel in Dong-gu closed on the same day, with Dong-gu Public Health Center staff controlling access and conducting disinfection from 11 a.m. Epidemiological investigators from Daegu City conducted an internal investigation in the afternoon. They are also analyzing CCTV footage installed in elevators and restaurant entrances to confirm whether Ms. A entered the wedding hall and to identify her movement paths and contacts. The hotel management held multiple meetings to decide on whether to resume operations.

The C Club in Suite 201 of Boutique City Terrace Officetel in Dong-gu, which Ms. A visited twice on the 6th and 7th, and the Shincheonji Daegu Church have been closed and disinfected.

On the 18th, the Gangnam Public Health Center in Seoul took disinfection measures at the SETEC exhibition center in Daechi-dong, Gangnam-gu, where Ms. A stayed for an extended period, and at the C Club headquarters in Yeoksam-dong to prevent secondary infections.

Ms. A attended an educational seminar hosted by the C Club headquarters in a 300-seat hall at SETEC on the 29th of last month. Approximately 100 attendees, including Ms. A, visited the C Club headquarters office and dined together at a nearby Chinese restaurant after the seminar.

The atmosphere is tense at an auto parts company in Dalseong-gun where Ms. A’s son, Mr. B, works. The company urgently placed Mr. B under self-quarantine in the morning and disinfected the office. About ten colleagues who worked in the same space left early, and external access was strictly controlled.

Additionally, a kindergarten in Suseong-gu, attended by the child of a nurse working at the Korean Medicine Hospital where Ms. A was admitted, sent children home and decided to close temporarily.

Daegu City canceled all public events, including the Daegu Citizens' Day celebrations, and recommended the cancellation of private events. Eight public libraries in Suseong-gu, including Beomeo Library and Yonghak Library, will temporarily close from the 19th to the 3rd of next month for building disinfection and sanitation. Suseong Artpia canceled the German Karlsruhe National Theater’s invited concert opera "Don Giovanni," scheduled for the 21st and 22nd. Cheongdo Public Enterprise Corporation indefinitely postponed the bullfighting event originally planned to resume on the 22nd to ensure customer safety and health. Cheongdo-gun, Gyeongbuk Province, confirmed that dozens of residents from Iseo-myeon also attended a wedding at the Queen Bell Hotel in Dong-gu on the 15th, the same day Ms. A visited, and is monitoring for any abnormal symptoms.