Accelerating Location Tracking of Suspected and Contact Cases of 'New Coronavirus'

Without Passing Through the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters or the National Police Agency
Direct Location Identification and Communication by Local Governments, Regional Police Agencies, and Police Stations
Some Voices Call for "Local Governments to Disclose Information"

Police Support for New Coronavirus Response Including Dispatch to Quarantine Stations

On the 11th, visitors at the National Medical Center in Jung-gu, Seoul, are wearing masks to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus./Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-ju] Going forward, it is expected that the tracking of suspected cases and contacts of the novel coronavirus infection (Wuhan pneumonia) will become much faster. This is due to improvements in related procedures that allow local police to be immediately mobilized for tracking unidentified contacts.

According to the National Police Agency on the 11th, the police recently changed the method of tracking suspected cases and contacts to a direct notification system between local governments and provincial police agencies and police stations. Previously, local governments first identified the whereabouts, then passed unconfirmed individuals to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters (CDSCH), which compiled the information and sent it to the National Police Agency. The National Police Agency then relayed it to provincial police agencies, which in turn sent it to police stations for tracking. Additionally, once the whereabouts were identified, the information traveled back up from police stations to provincial agencies, then to the National Police Agency, and finally to the CDSCH, which then relayed it back to local governments. This multi-step process inevitably delayed the tracking of suspected cases and contacts.

In response, the police have shortened the process by enabling direct communication between local governments and provincial police agencies and police stations without going through the CDSCH and the National Police Agency. If local governments fail to identify the whereabouts of suspected cases or contacts, they immediately notify the provincial agencies and police stations with the list of unidentified individuals. Conversely, provincial agencies and police stations directly report the tracking results back to local governments. A police official explained, "Initially, the number of suspected cases and contacts was small enough to manage with the existing method, but as the numbers continued to rise, the method was improved for faster tracking."

With the police able to act immediately in identifying suspected cases and contacts, the speed of acquiring related information is expected to increase. Since the first confirmed case of the novel coronavirus on the 20th of last month, the police have received 367 requests (including both domestic and foreign nationals) for whereabouts tracking, successfully locating 340 individuals, with 27 still being tracked. The police deploy the International Crime Investigation Unit of provincial agencies for tracking foreigners, and detectives, investigators, and community police officers (at police substations) for tracking domestic nationals. For example, in the case of the third confirmed patient who traveled around the Gangnam area of Seoul for three days, detectives from Gangnam and Suseo Police Stations and community police officers were deployed to check closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage and trace the movement. For the fourth confirmed patient, 38 police officers were mobilized to confirm the movement path.

However, as local governments and police can now directly track contacts, there are calls for related information to be disclosed through local governments. Currently, information such as confirmed patients' movement paths and contact details are compiled and announced by the Central Disease Control Headquarters. Some local governments have expressed dissatisfaction with this arrangement. Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon pointed out, "If (patient information) is not announced and shared in real time, it increases public anxiety and exposes significant problems in preventing the spread of infectious diseases."

Meanwhile, the police are carrying out support tasks related to the novel coronavirus, including dispatching 193 officers to quarantine stations nationwide such as airports and ports, and deploying three companies each to two temporary living facilities for Wuhan evacuees to provide security. The police are also expected to assist in transporting Wuhan evacuees returning on the third chartered flight to their temporary living facilities.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.