Patient No. 29, 114 Contacts Including Visit to Jongno Medical Institution... "Additional Verification Underway" (Update)

On the 16th, the Regional Medical Emergency Center at Korea University Hospital in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, where the 29th COVID-19 patient visited, is conducting disinfection after implementing access control measures. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heung-soon] The 80-year-old male patient (born in 1938, Korean nationality), who is the 29th confirmed case of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) in South Korea, has been confirmed to have come into contact with a total of 114 people while visiting pharmacies and medical institutions around Jongno-gu, Seoul.

◆ Mainly visited medical institutions in Jongno-gu= The Central Disease Control Headquarters of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced the confirmed movements and number of contacts of patient number 29 during a regular briefing on the 17th. This patient visited a medical institution in Jongno-gu, Seoul (Shin Jung-ho Internal Medicine Clinic, 61-1 Jibong-ro) at around 2:50 p.m. on the 5th, and stopped by a pharmacy in Jongno-gu (Boram Pharmacy, Jongno 326) at around 3:10 p.m. Ten minutes later, he additionally visited another medical institution in Jongno-gu (Gangbuk Seoul Surgical Clinic, 29 Jibong-ro).

On the 7th, he visited the medical institution (Shin Jung-ho Internal Medicine Clinic) in Jongno-gu at around 2:20 p.m., and on the 8th at around 11:30 a.m., he again stopped by the medical institution (Gangbuk Seoul Surgical Clinic) in Jongno-gu. Ten minutes later, he visited a pharmacy in Jongno-gu (Bom Pharmacy, 37-1 Jibong-ro). On the 10th, he visited the medical institution (Gangbuk Seoul Surgical Clinic) in Jongno-gu at around 9:50 a.m., and then went to the pharmacy (Boram Pharmacy) in Jongno-gu at around 10:15 a.m. On the 11th, he visited the medical institution (Gangbuk Seoul Surgical Clinic) in Jongno-gu at around 11 a.m.

On the 12th, he visited the medical institution (Gangbuk Seoul Surgical Clinic) in Jongno-gu at around 10:50 a.m., and then the pharmacy (Bom Pharmacy) in Jongno-gu at around 11:05 a.m. Afterwards, on the 15th at around 11 a.m., he stopped by the medical institution (Gangbuk Seoul Surgical Clinic) in Jongno-gu, then went to the emergency room of a medical institution in Seongbuk-gu (Korea University Anam Hospital) at around 11:45 a.m., and moved to a negative pressure isolation room at around 4 p.m. There, he tested positive for COVID-19 and was transferred to the nationally designated inpatient treatment bed at Seoul National University Hospital on the 16th. During this period, he came into contact with 114 people. Among those confirmed to have had contact with patient number 29 at Anam Hospital, 45 medical staff and employees and 31 patients, totaling 76 people, were placed under self-quarantine and isolated in single rooms.

◆ "Estimated onset on the 5th, number of contacts may increase"= Jung Eun-kyung, director of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, stated, "Patient number 29 showed symptoms such as a dry cough starting from February 5th, so that day was set as the onset date." She added, "Contact tracing has been conducted since the day before onset, February 4th, focusing on medical institutions and places mainly visited." However, there are some dates such as the 4th, 6th, 9th, and 13th to 14th for which detailed movements have not been identified. Director Jung said, "The number of movements and contacts may increase as a result of epidemiological investigations," and added, "We are also continuously investigating whether there were any symptomatic contacts about two weeks before the onset."

Regarding the reason why this patient frequently visited certain hospitals and pharmacies, she explained, "He originally received surgical treatment and had been visiting the hospital continuously since 2016 for follow-up care. Although he had symptoms like a dry cough or body aches at the time, they were not severe enough to suspect pneumonia, and since there was no history of overseas travel, it was difficult to suspect COVID-19 onset."

Patient number 29 is also known to have volunteered delivering lunchboxes for elderly people living alone in Jongno-gu. This raised concerns about infection among vulnerable groups such as the elderly and low-income populations. In response, Director Jung said, "The places where lunchbox delivery volunteering was conducted have been closed continuously since the 1st," and added, "It is understood that the patient did not engage in volunteer activities after the estimated onset date of the 5th."

Meanwhile, the patient's wife, a woman in her 60s (born in 1952, Korean nationality), who is patient number 30, was also confirmed positive the previous day and was transferred to Seoul National University Hospital. Director Jung said, "The onset of symptoms for patient number 30 is estimated to be around February 6th," and added, "Epidemiological investigations are underway regarding movements and number of contacts."

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