[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Ju Cheol-in] Additional infections among medical staff have occurred at Hanmaeum Changwon Hospital in Changwon, Gyeongbuk, which had been closed from the 22nd to the 24th after doctors and nurses tested positive for COVID-19, leading to the hospital being closed again just one day after reopening.
Changwon City announced on the morning of the 26th that one nurse in the hospital's neonatal unit tested positive for COVID-19.
The nurse was classified as a contact of previously confirmed medical staff and was under self-quarantine. Accordingly, health authorities decided to maintain the closure for up to two weeks.
Heo Seong-mu, mayor of Changwon City, stated, "Following the three confirmed cases reported yesterday (the 25th), an additional seven cases were confirmed overnight, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in Changwon to 15. The 15th confirmed case is a nurse in her 50s at Hanmaeum Changwon Hospital."
As confirmed cases continued to emerge at Hanmaeum Changwon Hospital, health authorities designated the hospital as an infectious disease intensive care hospital.
Lee Jong-cheol, director of the Changwon City Health Center, said, "This morning, we were notified by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency that Hanmaeum Changwon Hospital will be designated as an intensive care hospital. After epidemiological investigations are conducted by researchers from the agency at the hospital, the reopening schedule will be decided."
Previously, Hanmaeum Changwon Hospital had one nurse test positive on the 22nd and one doctor on the 23rd, leading to the hospital's closure on the 22nd. After disinfection, the hospital reopened on the 25th, but with additional confirmed cases among medical staff, it closed again after just one day.
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