Citizens are waiting for testing at a temporary screening clinic for the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Seul-gi] On the 21st, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that the 10 cases of COVID-19 re-positivity detected through proactive testing of the general public are not reinfections. The health authorities determined that these cases are not COVID-19 reinfections but are caused by dead virus fragments.
Park Yu-mi, Director of the Seoul Metropolitan Government's Citizen Health Bureau, stated during the online "COVID-19 Regular Briefing" that "In May, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) conducted epidemiological investigations and laboratory tests on re-positive individuals. Virus culture tests performed on specimens from those retested all came back negative."
A re-positivity diagnosis refers to cases where citizens who had previously been declared recovered from COVID-19 and discharged later tested positive again after applying for proactive testing conducted by Seoul for the general public.
She continued, "We investigated whether any infections occurred among contacts of the re-positive individuals, but no infections were found. Considering the virus culture tests and the lack of infectiousness among contacts, we concluded that these are not virus fragments or reinfections and reported this to the KDCA."
She added, "When a positive reaction appears again in COVID-19 virus testing, we report it to the KDCA according to the city’s guidelines."
Furthermore, she said, "We manage re-positive individuals by providing health education to their close contacts and instructing them to get tested immediately if symptoms appear."
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