COVID-19 Spread at Lotteria Staff Gathering... 7 Seoul Stores Closed

Only 10 Confirmed Cases Nationwide
Seoul City "Additional Cases Possible... Epidemiological Investigation Underway"

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Saeng-hye] It has been confirmed that a cluster infection of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) occurred among employees of the fast-food chain Lotteria who held a meeting in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul. Currently, the number of confirmed cases nationwide related to this cluster has reached 10.

According to Seoul City and Gwangjin-gu on the 12th, Lotteria employees, including branch managers from city locations, held a meeting at the Lotteria Gunja Station branch from 3:18 PM to 5:25 PM on the 6th. Ten people attended the meeting.

After the meeting, the attendees had a meal at a jokbal (pig's trotters) restaurant on Neungdong-ro from 5:29 PM to 7:00 PM. They then moved to 'Chicken Bang-i Neungdong Branch' at 7:06 PM and stayed until 9:04 PM, during which the number of attendees increased to a total of 19.

Among the attendees, one resident of Goyang-si, Gyeonggi Province, was first confirmed positive on the 11th, and three Seoul residents who attended the meeting were additionally confirmed positive on the same day. Subsequently, on the 12th, four more Seoul residents and two residents from other cities and provinces outside Seoul tested positive, raising the number of confirmed cases related to this cluster identified by Seoul City to 10 nationwide (including 7 in Seoul) as of 2:30 PM.

The city is focusing on epidemiological investigations, considering that there may be more attendees or people who visited the same locations, as well as those they have come into contact with, which could lead to additional confirmed cases.

The employees who attended the meeting were found to have worked at Lotteria Hyehwa Branch, Jonggak Station Branch, and others, so Jongno-gu disinfected these establishments. Lotteria reportedly closed the stores where the attendees work, including these branches.