18 Confirmed Cases in Busan Alone on Chuseok Day... Holiday Quarantine Emergency

Mandeok Green Core Bathhouse, Pyeonggang Clinic, Kkamkkami, and Others Confirm Multiple Cases, Busan City Strengthens Preparedness Measures

On the 1st, Chuseok, a paid admission notice to prevent the spread of COVID-19 was posted at Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul. [Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] On the 1st, a large number of COVID-19 cases were confirmed in Busan, raising alarms over quarantine measures during the Chuseok holiday.

Busan city quarantine authorities announced that as of the afternoon of that day, 18 new confirmed cases were reported, bringing the total cumulative confirmed cases in the Busan area to 440.

On that day in Busan, a total of 18 people tested positive for COVID-19, including those who visited public bathhouses and hospitals, contacts of previously confirmed cases, transmissions among family members, and cases with unknown infection routes.

Cases 423, 424, 425, and 429 in Busan were contacts of case 422 and include patients, caregivers, and staff of Pyeonggang Clinic in Geumjeong-gu, Busan. Case 434, who also tested positive that day, is a family member of case 422.

Cases 426, 427, 428, and 430 either directly visited or used the Green Core Bathhouse in Mandeok-dong, Buk-gu, which was used by case 408 who tested positive on September 27, or are family members of confirmed cases who tested positive earlier after using the same facility during that period.

Quarantine authorities reported that cases 412 and 415, who tested positive on September 29, are also related to the Green Core Bathhouse, bringing the total number of confirmed cases linked to this bathhouse to nine (seven visitors and two contacts) so far.

The infection routes of cases 431 (Buk-gu) and 432 (Busanjin-gu) are under epidemiological investigation, while cases 433 and 437 are overseas arrivals who entered from Myanmar and Indonesia, respectively.

Busan city decided to strengthen emergency preparedness as 18 COVID-19 confirmed cases occurred in just one day on Chuseok.

Acting Mayor of Busan, Byun Sung-wan, convened an emergency COVID-19 response meeting in the afternoon with key city officials including the Director of Planning and Coordination, Director of Citizen Safety, and Director of Welfare and Health.

Acting Mayor Byun Sung-wan stated, “Recently, confirmed cases related to small local restaurants, the Green Core Bathhouse in Buk-gu, and Pyeonggang Clinic in Geumjeong-gu have increased, and since the initial source of infection has not been identified, the situation is very concerning. We ask for strict compliance with quarantine guidelines.”