[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] One employee of the Public Procurement Service in Daejeon tested positive for the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).
According to Daejeon City and the Public Procurement Service on the 8th, a man in his 40s, A (resident of Doryong-dong, Yuseong-gu, #150), who works as a contract support officer in the Facilities Bureau of the Public Procurement Service, was confirmed positive for COVID-19 that morning.
The confirmed patient developed symptoms such as fever starting from the 6th and visited the Yuseong screening clinic the next day for a diagnostic test, which confirmed the infection.
The city plans to identify the infection route and movement path of patient #150 and disclose the information on the city’s official website.
The occurrence of a confirmed case among Public Procurement Service employees has triggered an emergency response at the Government Complex Daejeon.
The Government Complex Daejeon, located in Dunsan-dong, Seo-gu, Daejeon, currently houses seven external agencies including the Korea Customs Service, Public Procurement Service, and Korea Forest Service, as well as about ten other institutions such as the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Fair Trade Commission’s Daejeon office, with a total of 4,929 government officials working on site.
Including outsourced company employees, contract personnel, and daily visitors, it is estimated that around 10,000 people pass through the complex each day.
This has caused unease among the government officials working inside the complex. One official from an agency within the Government Complex Daejeon said, “There is growing anxiety over the fact that a confirmed case has emerged in a space where more than 10,000 people come and go daily,” adding, “We just hope no additional cases occur.”
Another official said, “There is concern not only about the office where the confirmed case was found but also about anyone who might have used the elevators, cafes, or restaurants within the same building,” and added, “We worry whether we can continue working as usual or if we will need to switch to remote work by agency.”
Meanwhile, in response to the confirmed case within the Government Complex Daejeon, the complex management office plans to strengthen fever checks and disinfection measures to prepare for any situation.
Previously, reflecting the recent surge of COVID-19 cases in Daejeon, the management office had already enhanced quarantine activities by installing thermal imaging cameras at the entrances of the four buildings in the complex and placing disinfectants.
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