57 Confirmed Cases Between 6th and 12th
"Frequent Contact in Limited Hospital Space Due to Facility Characteristics"
Focus on Statement of Symptom Onset on 29th Last Month
8 Additional Cases Confirmed Today... Cohort Isolation Maintained
Uijeongbu City Suspends Public Facility Operations Until 17th
A cluster of COVID-19 infections recently occurred at a rehabilitation specialist hospital in Howon-dong, Uijeongbu-si, Gyeonggi Province. [Image source=Yonhap News]
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-ju] At a rehabilitation-specialized hospital in Uijeongbu, confirmed COVID-19 cases continue to surge while the infection route remains unidentified.
According to Uijeongbu City and others, on the 12th, eight additional confirmed cases occurred at this hospital. Since the initial infection began on the 6th, a total of 57 people have tested positive as of that day. This includes 4 medical staff, 25 inpatients, 26 caregivers and guardians, 1 occupational therapist, and 1 family member of medical staff.
Notably, 35 of them (61.4%) were confirmed positive within two days. The health authorities believe that due to limited space and the nature of the rehabilitation hospital, where frequent contact occurs between patients and caregivers or guardians, COVID-19 spread rapidly.
The hospital itself requested diagnostic testing on the 5th after 10 people, including patients on the 5th-floor inpatient ward, showed symptoms such as fever.
After health authorities conducted comprehensive testing on 565 people?including patients, guardians, caregivers, medical staff, and employees on the 3rd to 5th floors of the inpatient ward?26 tested positive on the 6th, and 9 more were confirmed positive on the 7th.
Even with negative test results, COVID-19 can be latent, so the hospital is continuing testing while maintaining cohort isolation on the 3rd to 5th floors. The hospital has about 205 beds, with approximately 190 inpatients.
The infection route has not yet been identified. The quarantine authorities expressed that it is very difficult to determine the initial source of infection.
However, health authorities consider that since 26 of the confirmed cases are caregivers and guardians who can freely go outside compared to the immobile inpatients, they are likely the primary source of infection.
The health authorities are also investigating whether there are notable points related to the infection routes among nurses and caregivers among the confirmed cases.
Additionally, during the epidemiological investigation, attention is being paid to the fact that some inpatients visited their homes during the Chuseok holiday.
In particular, authorities have secured a statement that patient A, an octogenarian admitted on the 5th floor who was the first confirmed case, had symptoms on September 29th, a week before the first occurrence and the day before the Chuseok holiday began. There were also statements that symptoms began on August 30th and September 3rd among other confirmed cases.
If these statements from patient A and others are true, it suggests that COVID-19 was introduced through some route around that time and spread within the ward for a week.
However, health authorities maintain that since most of these patients are elderly, their memories may not be accurate, so the credibility of the symptom onset timing needs further verification.
Health authorities conducted diagnostic tests on 61 people isolated on the 5th floor that day and planned to decide on lifting isolation based on the results. However, since 8 additional cases were confirmed among them, they decided to maintain the current status.
Uijeongbu Mayor Ahn Byung-yong said, "We will prioritize preventing community spread and then conduct a detailed investigation with the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency," adding, "Citizens are urged to refer to the emergency disaster messages sent in real time and to strengthen personal quarantine efforts."
Meanwhile, despite social distancing being eased to Level 1 from the morning of that day, Uijeongbu City plans to suspend operations of public facilities such as libraries, Uijeongbu Arts Center, comprehensive social welfare centers, and senior centers until the 17th. In addition, on-site inspections to ensure compliance with quarantine rules at high-risk facilities such as entertainment bars, karaoke rooms, and nightclubs will be intensified.
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