Two Merchants Attending Yelim Church and Street Vendor Test Positive
780 Stores and Street Stalls... On-site 'Screening Clinic' Established
Teacher at Children's Academy Also Confirmed Positive... Concerns Over Mass Testing Disruptions
[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Dong-wook] Saemaeul Central Market, a representative traditional market in Gumi City, Gyeongsangbuk-do, has been hit hard by the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).
On the 24th, following the 23rd, merchants conducting business at this location were consecutively confirmed as positive cases, prompting the urgent installation of a screening clinic on site and creating a tense situation.
According to Gyeongbuk Province and Gumi City on the 24th, among the five church members confirmed as positive cases the previous day, a woman in her 40s worked part-time at the 'Oneul Banchan' store in Saemaeul Central Market, and another confirmed case, a woman in her 70s, was identified as a street vendor selling cheonggukjang at a makeshift stall in front of that side dish store.
During the epidemiological investigation of market merchants following the identification of these confirmed cases by health authorities, a woman in her 60s tested positive from a specimen test on the night of the 23rd. This woman is known to be a street vendor selling goods at a makeshift stall.
The Gumi Public Health Center has set up a screening clinic at one corner of the market since the 23rd and has begun a full survey of all merchants. Gumi Central Market is one of the largest traditional markets in the Gyeongbuk region, with 684 registered stores and more than 100 street stalls.
Moreover, as the woman in her 40s confirmed positive on the 23rd in the Gumi area was identified as a teacher at Daegyo Learning Center academy in Doryang-dong, Gumi City, health authorities have raised an emergency by requesting additional personnel from other regions. This academy is a large children’s specialized academy with about 100 elementary school students enrolled.
A Gumi Public Health Center official said, "We are facing difficulties due to the large number of academy-related persons and merchants," and added, "We plan to complete the full survey of local market merchants by the 25th."
Meanwhile, on the 3rd in the Gumi area, three COVID-19 confirmed cases were identified in the morning, followed by two more in the afternoon. Including the street vendor confirmed positive that night, six additional cases were confirmed in one day. This brings the total number of confirmed cases in the Gumi area to 76. Except for the street vendor who tested positive that night, all five were members of Yelim Church attended by A, a third-year student at Daegu Agricultural Meister High School who was asymptomatically confirmed positive during dormitory admission on the 21st (the 69th confirmed case in Gumi), and his older brother (the 70th confirmed case).
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