A 17-year-old female high school student attending a high school in London, UK, arrived at Incheon International Airport around 5 PM on the 24th after schools closed due to COVID-19; having stayed at an apartment in Dogok-dong, Gangnam-gu, she developed a high fever of 38°C around noon on the 25th, and tested positive on the morning of the 26th after specimen testing at Gangnam-gu Public Health Center that afternoon.
[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Gangnam-gu (District Mayor Jung Soon-gyun) announced on the 27th that a high school girl who returned from studying abroad in London, UK, was confirmed positive for COVID-19.
With this, the number of confirmed foreign students in Gangnam-gu has increased to eight.
The 17-year-old high school girl currently attending a high school in London, UK, returned home after her school was closed due to COVID-19. She took Emirates Airlines flight EK0004 from London to Dubai and then flight EK0322 from Dubai to Incheon, arriving at Incheon International Airport around 5 p.m. on the 24th. She has been staying at an apartment in Dogok-dong, Gangnam-gu. Starting around noon on the 25th, she developed a high fever of 38℃, and after a specimen test at the Gangnam-gu Public Health Center that afternoon, she was confirmed positive on the morning of the 26th.
According to the epidemiological investigation, fortunately, she stayed only inside the house for one day after returning, with no visits or external contacts. Her mother and younger brother, who returned on the same flight, tested negative.
Gangnam-gu placed the high school girl in an isolation hospital this afternoon, notified the quarantine office at Incheon Airport about the flight, and conducted disinfection of the apartment where she stayed.
District Mayor Jung Soon-gyun explained the results of an additional epidemiological investigation regarding the American student mother and daughter residing in Gangnam-gu, who were recently criticized as subjects of compensation claims by Jeju Provincial Office and even targeted for punishment through a Blue House national petition after being confirmed positive shortly after traveling to Jeju Island.
Mayor Jung said, "First, I will explain the reason for their travel. The student daughter enrolled in a university in Boston last September, but she was under severe stress due to a demanding class schedule. To refresh their mood, the mother and daughter originally planned a trip to Hawaii starting on the 21st, but when the Hawaii flights were canceled due to the COVID-19 outbreak, they traveled to Jeju Island from the 20th instead."
He added that the student daughter was not designated for self-quarantine by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency at the time of departure and had no special symptoms. She only had a very mild sore throat on the evening of departure, which did not affect her travel activities, and she did not have significant concerns about COVID-19 infection.
The mother and daughter stayed at accommodations in Jeju City and traveled without incident for two days. On the afternoon of the 22nd, they moved to a resort in Pyoseon. On the morning of the 23rd, they visited a hospital near the accommodation, not because of the student daughter, but because the mother had stomach cramps the previous night and had difficulty sleeping. The student daughter accompanied her mother and treated nasal congestion symptoms that had started the day before. It was also revealed that the daughter has allergic rhinitis as an underlying condition.
Furthermore, the epidemiological investigation found that the student daughter began to experience the characteristic COVID-19 symptoms of taste and smell abnormalities starting on the last day of the trip, the 24th. Because of this, she visited the Gangnam-gu screening clinic at 7:25 p.m. after arriving in Seoul at 5 p.m. that day, was tested, and confirmed positive.
Regarding this, Jeju Provincial Office stated in a press release on the 26th, "The student daughter showed symptoms such as chills, muscle pain, and sore throat from the evening of the 20th, the first day of arrival in Jeju, and visited a hospital near the accommodation on the morning of the 23rd. Despite these symptoms, they proceeded with the trip, which indicates intentionality."
Q&A
Question: Is there any information on the position of the student family who are reportedly being sued by business owners in Jeju? Also, even if US arrivals install the self-quarantine app, there are malfunctions. Does the district office plan to assign staff to manage arrivals in the area?
Answer: The mother and daughter are facing severe criticism, and with the announcement of the lawsuit by Jeju Province, they are practically in a state of mental panic when they should be focusing on treatment. Of course, we feel sorry for the difficulties of Jeju and the damages suffered by Jeju residents, but these mother and daughter are also innocent victims of the COVID-19 outbreak. There is regret that they did not voluntarily enter self-quarantine and that they did not cooperate, but the current criticism and the lawsuit seem to stem from misunderstandings or lack of understanding about the situation they experienced and the situation in Jeju.
In fact, special entry procedures for European arrivals began on the 22nd, and the first confirmed American student case in Gangnam-gu was on the 23rd. From the 24th, Gangnam-gu sent disaster messages urging American students in the district to self-quarantine for 14 days. Considering this, the mother and daughter entered Korea on the 15th and traveled to Jeju from the 20th, so it seems they did not have sufficient understanding or awareness about self-quarantine at that time. From epidemiological investigations of American student cases, many young students do not have a strong awareness of the risks or seriousness of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is believed that this mother and daughter also lacked awareness of the risks and seriousness of COVID-19, which led to this situation.
Regarding the second question, as of yesterday, there were about 300 self-quarantine cases from Europe in Gangnam alone. Starting today, strict self-quarantine policies for arrivals from the US are being implemented. Many American and overseas students are thought to be concentrated in the Gangnam area, including Seocho and Songpa districts. It is expected that a significant number of American students will enter Gangnam-gu. It is estimated that at the peak, there could be up to 2,000 people under 14-day self-quarantine. To manage this scale, nearly 1,000 internal staff members have been selected as self-quarantine monitoring personnel, receiving prior training and preparing accordingly.
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