'5 COVID-19 Deaths' at Cheongdo Daenam Hospital... "No Ventilation Improvement Work in Psychiatric Ward" (Summary)

The 5th floor psychiatric ward of Cheongdo Daenam Hospital, where 5 COVID-19 deaths and 112 confirmed cases occurred (the floor with black windows), is known to have an outdated ventilation system that does not provide proper air circulation.

[Asia Economy (Cheongdo) = Reporter Jeong Dong-hoon] It has been revealed that Daenam Hospital in Cheongdo, where 5 domestic deaths from the novel coronavirus infection occurred, did not remodel the 5th-floor psychiatric ward during remodeling work about 1 year and 2 months ago and operated an aging ventilation system.

Established in 1990 and over 30 years old, Daenam Hospital had an aging ventilation system, 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, "While remodeling the 2nd and 3rd floors of Daenam Hospital, where the nursing ward was located, ceiling-type ventilator work was carried out in patient rooms, showers, and restrooms," adding, "The 5th floor, where the psychiatric ward is located, was not remodeled, and the air conditioning and ventilation system was also not repaired." The 5th floor with the psychiatric ward appeared old from the outside, with worn windows, and outdoor units were only installed on the 2nd floor. The 5th-floor psychiatric ward, where 101 out of 102 inpatients tested positive for COVID-19, was likely exposed to a poor ventilation structure.

◆ "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 concern about the poor hospital facilities. Jang Young-sook (63, pseudonym), who often visited Daenam Hospital to see her grandmother in a neighboring house, said, "There was a ventilator, but more than four people were crowded in a 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 It was presumed that a large-scale infection occurred due to poor ventilation in a narrow, outdated space. As of the morning of that day, Daenam Hospital had 4 deaths and 112 confirmed cases due to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

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 Department of Infectious Diseases at Ewha Mokdong Hospital expressed concern, saying, "If ventilation was not properly done in a narrow space, it is easy to be exposed to infectious diseases," and "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.

◆ Expected 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, a MERS patient stayed in the emergency room of Samsung Seoul Hospital for 4 days, infecting a total of 81 people. However, at Daenam Hospital, where about 520 patients and medical staff are still in quarantine, the number of confirmed cases has already exceeded 110.

In the afternoon near Daenam Hospital, it was even difficult to find passersby. Since the first COVID-19 confirmed case at Daenam Hospital on the 19th, the hospital entrance, which has been strictly isolated from the outside for five days, was firmly closed. Although it was a holiday, even the families of patients who occasionally delivered daily necessities and food to quarantined patients 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 did not allow anyone to approach.

Concerns about Daenam Hospital, where 5 of the 7 domestic COVID-19 deaths are related, are growing. Most psychiatric ward patients have chronic mental illnesses with weakened immune systems. Especially in Daenam Hospital, a rural hospital, it is known that many patients have stayed in the closed ward for several years to over 20 years. Professor Cheon said, "Patients in closed wards are difficult to move to other wards even if they develop other diseases due to risks such as falls or threatening others," adding, "It is likely that many patients had other underlying diseases such as diabetes or tuberculosis, so there is a high risk of additional deaths."

Meanwhile, on the morning of that day, the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters announced that patient number 286 (male, 62) died the previous day. The deceased was a patient hospitalized in the psychiatric ward of Daenam Hospital, and health authorities are investigating the exact cause of death. Accordingly, the number of patients who died after being confirmed with COVID-19 has increased to 7. Among them, 5 were patients admitted to the psychiatric ward of Daenam Hospital.