'Group Infection' at Daenam Hospital, Did They Hesitate Despite Knowing Symptomatic Patients?

"Statement on Identifying 25 External Contacts of Hospitalized Patient Since Late January"
"Fever in Patient and Medical Staff from 15th This Month"... First External Test Conducted Three Days Later
"Delayed Response Due to Outbreak Risk Concerns?"... Doubts Raised

[Asia Economy Reporters Choi Dae-yeol, Kim Heung-soon, Jung Dong-hoon] Alongside the Shincheonji Jesus Church in Daegu, Daenam Hospital in Cheongdo, Gyeongbuk, where a domestic cluster outbreak of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) occurred, has been found to have responded passively despite being aware of suspected cases. Among the confirmed cases were medical staff including doctors and nurses, raising suspicions that they hesitated to conduct diagnostic tests even after recognizing symptomatic individuals, potentially missing the 'golden time' to block the cluster infection.

According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters for COVID-19, as of 9 a.m. on the 25th, out of 893 cumulative confirmed cases in the country, a total of 113 patients were linked to Daenam Hospital. This is the second highest number of confirmed cases after the Shincheonji Daegu Church, which involved 456 people. Among the 9 deaths, 6 were patients associated with this hospital.

Of the confirmed cases at Daenam Hospital, 103 were inpatients including those in the psychiatric ward, and 10 others including doctors, nurses, psychiatric hospital caregivers, nursing assistants, and patients' family members were also confirmed positive. The health authorities have been investigating the connection between this hospital and the Shincheonji Daegu Church for several days based on the large number of confirmed cases emerging from the psychiatric ward, where external access is restricted, but have yet to find any correlation.

Meanwhile, a clue has emerged. On the 24th, Daenam Hospital stated, "Psychiatric ward inpatients were found to have had contact with the outside 25 times in total, including 8 overnight leaves, 5 day leaves, and 12 visits between January 22 and February 13," adding, "From February 15, several patients, mainly psychiatric inpatients and their medical staff, began to show fever symptoms." This suggests that someone who went out was exposed to the infection source and then returned to the hospital, spreading the virus.

The hospital added, "At that time, we conducted several tests internally, but no results confirmed COVID-19 symptoms," and "The condition of those showing similar symptoms was not severe, making it difficult to distinguish from cold symptoms." The hospital requested COVID-19 tests from an external clinic three days later, on the 18th. Two people tested positive there, and confirmed cases surged thereafter.

Some suspect that Daenam Hospital may have delayed initial response due to reluctance to disclose the occurrence of patient infections. A hospital official said, "If a confirmed case is found, the hospital must suspend operations for several days due to quarantine, and other visiting patients may sharply decrease," adding, "There is a hesitant atmosphere fearing displeasure from the hospital director or management if diagnostic tests are conducted without patient requests." Another private hospital official said, "When patients complain of mild cough or sore throat, we reflexively recommend visiting a screening clinic first."

Meanwhile, Daenam Hospital denied any connection with Shincheonji, which has been raised by some. The hospital had treated the elder brother of Lee Man-hee, the Shincheonji Chairman, who was hospitalized from January 27 to 31 last month, and after his death, a funeral was held at the hospital's funeral hall until the 2nd of this month.

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