[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] A man in his 50s in Gwangju, whose COVID-19 diagnosis was previously pending, has been finally classified as a confirmed case.
According to Gwangju Metropolitan City on the 14th, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) has officially registered Mr. A, a man in his 50s whose COVID-19 test results alternated between positive and negative, as a confirmed case.
Earlier, Mr. A was hospitalized due to abdominal pain symptoms and tested positive in a COVID-19 test conducted by a public-private entrusted institution on the 11th, leading to his classification as a confirmed case.
Subsequently, a second test was conducted at the Gwangju City Health and Environment Research Institute for accuracy, but the result was negative, causing the confirmation to be put on hold.
Afterward, new specimens were collected by the Gwangju Health Institute and Chonnam National University Hospital, and a total of seven tests were conducted, all of which did not detect the COVID-19 virus.
However, following the 'manual,' the KDCA re-examined the initial specimen collected by the first public-private entrusted institution, confirmed it as positive, and based on diagnostic criteria, finally classified Mr. A as a confirmed case, registering him as Gwangju case number 220.
Regarding this, Chonnam National University Hospital, where Mr. A is being treated, reportedly stated that considering the test results and the patient's treatment process comprehensively, it is clinically difficult to classify him as a confirmed case.
Nevertheless, Gwangju's quarantine authorities and the Infectious Disease Control Support Group decided to respect the KDCA's response manual and diagnosis.
Gwangju's quarantine authorities conducted an epidemiological investigation on Mr. A, and all 199 confirmed contacts tested negative. Among 35 family members in self-quarantine, no unusual symptoms have been reported so far.
Meanwhile, with Mr. A classified as a confirmed case, the cumulative number of confirmed cases in the Gwangju area has risen to 220. Since the start of the second COVID-19 wave on the 27th of last month, 187 cases have been reported.
By age group, there are 5 cases under 10 years old, 9 in their teens, 8 in their 20s, 14 in their 30s, 28 in their 40s, 43 in their 50s, 46 in their 60s, 21 in their 70s, 8 in their 80s, and 5 in their 90s.
From the 27th of last month to the present (as of 9 a.m. on the 14th), the daily confirmed cases were 4→4→3→12→22→6→8→16→7→6→8→15→3→9→5→7→1→1→1→5→0→10→1→0→4→9→2→0→1→0→0→1→0→0→0→1→0→2→1→0→0→0→2→0→0→6→2→1→1.
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