Confirmed Again After Recovery... 4 Cases in Gyeongbuk in Two Days

A 9-year-old girl hospitalized in the pediatric ward of Seoul Asan Medical Center Children's Hospital tested positive for COVID-19, and on the 1st, access to the pediatric ward and pediatric emergency center of Seoul Asan Medical Center is being restricted. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] Cases of individuals who were declared recovered from the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) but later tested positive again are occurring consecutively.

According to Gyeongbuk Province on the 5th, four people who had recovered from COVID-19 were reinfected within just two days, on the 2nd and 3rd. As a result, the number of reinfection cases in Gyeongbuk has increased to nine.

A(41) from Gimcheon tested positive on February 26 and received treatment at Gimcheon Medical Center. He was declared recovered and discharged on the 23rd. However, just 11 days later, on the 3rd, he tested positive again and was transferred back to Gimcheon Medical Center. After being declared recovered, A reportedly visited Daegu three times and Cheonan and Boeun once each by his own car for work purposes.

B(34), residing in Chilgok, was confirmed positive on February 24 and treated, then declared recovered on the 20th of last month, but tested positive again after 13 days. C(55, female) from Chilgok, who tested positive on February 25, was declared recovered on the 12th of last month but tested positive again three weeks later.

After recovery, they stayed at residential treatment centers and were tested again as they were preparing to return to work at social welfare facilities, which resulted in positive diagnoses.

D(27) from Gyeongju was confirmed positive on February 25 and treated, then declared recovered on the 27th of last month. After staying at home from the 28th, D visited a screening clinic and tested positive again on the 2nd. Prior to these cases, five others in the province had also tested positive again after recovery.

Health authorities are conducting epidemiological investigations on these individuals but have not yet clearly determined whether these are relapses or reinfections due to other factors. A Gyeongbuk Province official stated, "We are conducting epidemiological investigations to determine the route through which they tested positive again."