[Report] "Psychiatric Ward Did Not Undergo Ventilation System Construction"... Cheongdo Daenam Hospital Became a COVID-19 'Super Spreader' Site

The 5th floor psychiatric ward of Cheongdo Daenam Hospital, where 5 COVID-19 deaths and 112 confirmed cases occurred (the floor with black windows), appears to have an outdated ventilation system, as seen from the old windows.

[Asia Economy (Cheongdo) = Reporter Jeong Dong-hoon] "The air was so bad that my head was throbbing."

Residents near Daenam Hospital in Cheongdo, which became a 'COVID-19 super-spreader site,' expressed deep concerns about the poor hospital facilities. Jang Young-sook (63, pseudonym), who often visited Daenam Hospital to see her neighbor grandmother, said, "There was a ventilation fan, but more than four people were crowded into the narrow hospital room," adding, "The windows were small, so even when opened, it didn't feel like there was proper ventilation." It was presumed that the large-scale infection occurred due to poor ventilation in the cramped and outdated space. As of that morning, Daenam Hospital had reported 4 deaths and 112 confirmed cases due to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

◆ "No ventilation system work done in psychiatric ward" = Established in 1990 and over 30 years old, Daenam Hospital's ventilation system was outdated, and the psychiatric ward was managed as a closed unit, making it vulnerable to virus transmission, experts pointed out. A company official involved in the remodeling of Daenam Hospital at the end of 2018 said, "During the remodeling of the 2nd and 3rd floors, where the nursing ward was located, ceiling-type ventilation fans were installed in hospital rooms, showers, and restrooms," adding, "The 5th floor, which houses the psychiatric ward, was not remodeled, and the air conditioning and ventilation systems were not upgraded either." The 5th floor psychiatric ward showed signs of aging windows visible from outside, and outdoor units were only installed on the 2nd floor. Among the 102 inpatients, 101 tested positive for COVID-19 in the 5th floor psychiatric ward, indicating a high likelihood of exposure to poor ventilation conditions.

Jung Eun-kyung, Director of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, also pointed out, "Patients and medical staff had close contact inside the closed ward, and ventilation was not properly carried out in the internal facilities, which influenced the infection." Professor Cheon Eun-mi of the Infectious Diseases Department at Ewha Mokdong Hospital expressed concern, saying, "If ventilation was not properly maintained in a confined space, it is easy to be exposed to infectious diseases," and added, "Patients with mental illnesses, who have reduced cognitive communication abilities, probably could not properly explain to medical staff that the air quality was poor or that ventilation was inadequate."

On the afternoon of the 23rd, Cheongdo County Office employees are seen transporting lunch boxes for isolated patients and medical staff.

◆ Likely to be recorded as the worst hospital-acquired infection = Daenam Hospital in Cheongdo is expected to be recorded as the worst case of hospital-acquired infection. During the 2015 MERS outbreak, 81 people were infected after a MERS patient stayed in the emergency room of Samsung Seoul Hospital for four days. However, at Daenam Hospital, where about 520 patients and medical staff are still in quarantine, the number of confirmed cases has already exceeded 110.

That afternoon, it was difficult to even find passersby near Daenam Hospital. Since the first COVID-19 confirmed case at Daenam Hospital on the 19th, the hospital entrance has been tightly closed and isolated from the outside for five days. Although it was a holiday, even the families of patients who occasionally delivered daily necessities and food were not seen. Only quarantine officials spraying disinfectant every hour, fire station personnel handling household waste, and reporters lingered at a distance from the hospital. The curtain of fear allowed no one to approach.

Concerns are growing especially about Daenam Hospital, which is linked to 5 of the 7 COVID-19 deaths in South Korea. Most psychiatric ward patients are chronic mental illness patients with weakened immune systems. Particularly, Daenam Hospital, a rural hospital, is known to have many patients who have spent from a few years to over 20 years in the closed ward. Professor Cheon said, "Patients in closed wards are difficult to transfer to other wards even if they develop other diseases due to risks such as falls or threatening others," adding, "It is believed that a significant number of patients had other underlying diseases such as diabetes and tuberculosis, so there is a high risk of additional deaths."