Incheon Reports 1 COVID-19 Case... 60-Year-Old Woman Attended Daegu Shincheonji Gathering

Incheon Mayor Park Nam-chun is briefing on the occurrence of COVID-19 confirmed cases at the city hall press conference room on the 22nd.
[Photo by Incheon City]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] One new case of COVID-19 infection has been confirmed in Incheon.

Incheon City announced on the 22nd that a 61-year-old woman, Ms. A, living alone in an officetel in Bupyeong-gu, tested positive for COVID-19 at 9:30 a.m. that day.

It was confirmed that Ms. A attended a Shincheonji Church gathering in Daegu from the 14th to the 17th.

Ms. A had no subjective symptoms such as fever until now, but after receiving a testing recommendation call from Daegu City, she visited the Bupyeong-gu Public Health Center at 2:30 p.m. the previous day to have a specimen collected and has been self-isolating since then.

Incheon City explained that Ms. A moved from Daegu to Bupyeong-gu, Incheon on the 17th, but since the resident registration was not updated, her registered address remains in Daegu.

Ms. A was immediately transferred to Incheon Medical Center after testing positive and is currently receiving isolated treatment in a negative pressure ward. It has been confirmed that there are no family members living with her in Bupyeong-gu.

Incheon City is identifying contacts based on Ms. A’s movement routes, means of transportation, and credit card usage history. Emergency disinfection has been completed at the officetel where she resides, as well as at Bupyeong Station and Bupyeong Market, which she visited.

The city and the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency plan to investigate Ms. A’s exact movements to implement additional disinfection, facility closures, and quarantine measures. Previously, Incheon City closed 43 Shincheonji churches in the region.

In Incheon, a Chinese woman, Ms. B (35, from Wuhan), who was transiting through Incheon Airport on the 19th of last month, was confirmed positive for COVID-19 and treated at Incheon Medical Center; however, Ms. A is the first confirmed domestic case.

Mayor Park Namchun said at a press conference that "Although the government maintains the crisis alert level at 'caution,' Incheon City will respond more strongly and meticulously with a 'serious' level attitude," and urged, "If you have visited high-risk areas, even if you have no symptoms, please voluntarily consult with health authorities through the dedicated consultation phone line first and visit screening clinics according to the guidance."