[Report] "Ah! Mandeok-dong" ... Residents Facing Double Hardship of 'Anxiety and Stares' Amid Busan's Largest Mass Infection

Despite Level 1 Social Distancing Measures, Region on Alert
Confirmed Cases Continue to Rise Amid Cohort Isolation in Nursing Hospitals

Hae tteu rak Nursing Hospital in Mandeok-dong, Buk-gu, Busan, where 58 employees and patients tested positive for COVID-19. Photo by Joo Cheol-in

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Ju Cheol-in] “How is ‘Mandeok’ today?” This is a common greeting in Busan these days.

As the government’s social distancing measures were downgraded to level 1, the streets and markets in Busan city began to regain vitality, but the atmosphere in Busan’s Mandeok-dong, which showed the exact opposite, was visited on the afternoon of the 16th.

The road from the entrance of Mandeok-dong to Haetteurak Nursing Hospital, located on a steep mountainside, is densely packed with apartments and houses, but the neighborhood scene before sunset was somewhat bleak with no residents passing by. Where did all the many pedestrians of Mandeok-dong go?

‘Mandeok’ has been in the news daily over the past month due to consecutive cluster infections of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) occurring in bathhouses, small restaurants, and nursing hospitals. With more than 80 confirmed cases residing in or passing through Mandeok-dong, residents are gripped by great anxiety and fear.

In the case of the nursing hospital, after a nursing assistant was first confirmed positive for COVID-19 on the 13th, five more cases were confirmed on the 16th, the fourth day, and one more on the 17th, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 59 so far. This includes 46 patients, 7 hospital staff, and 6 caregivers.

Nearby shops and facilities have firmly closed their doors again, and foot traffic on the streets has completely stopped. Residents are afraid to go out, and when a few people gather, they turn their faces away. Busan City and Buk-gu Office have already closed all outdoor facilities such as small parks and sports parks where many residents gather. Attendance at daycare centers has also dropped sharply to less than half.

Although the nursing hospital is under cohort isolation, Mandeok-dong residents are more anxious than before the government eased social distancing measures. While carefully worrying that neighbors or family members might come into contact with confirmed cases somewhere, they also suffer from the harsh gaze of people from other regions.

A woman in her 30s complained, “When someone boards at the two Mandeok-dong subway stations, all the passengers stare,” and a woman in her 50s encountered near the nursing hospital shook her head before the question about the local atmosphere was even finished, saying, “I’m so anxious and uneasy that I can’t live here.”

A resident of a nearby apartment said, “Whenever there’s an outbreak, a large number of confirmed cases come out,” and “I heard that some nursing hospital staff live in our apartment, but what if asymptomatic transmission is happening among residents?” expressing concern.

Another resident said, “Because I’m anxious, I keep touching my mask more,” and “It’s not about business right now; I just hope the number of confirmed cases doesn’t increase and nothing worse happens,” hurrying their steps.

As additional COVID-19 cases surged at Haetteurak Nursing Hospital, shops around the hospital were firmly closed on the 16th, and the area appeared deserted with no foot traffic.
Photo by Joo Cheol-in

Recently, it was confirmed that one nursing hospital staff member who tested positive also attended an apartment model house and a redevelopment association general meeting, further entangling the anxiety. As of the afternoon of the 17th, no additional confirmed cases have been reported, but the quarantine authorities said there are still people among the contact classification targets who have not been reached, and everyone is going through anxious times.