Hanmaeum Changwon Hospital Medical Staff Mass Infection... Newborns Also Classified as 'Close Contacts'

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Ju Cheol-in] Medical staff including nurses and doctors in the neonatal unit of Hanmaeum Changwon Hospital (Hanyang University College of Medicine Training Hospital) in Changwon, Gyeongnam, have been confirmed positive for the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) in large numbers, causing tension among local residents and mothers.

Hanmaeum Changwon Hospital, which entered cohort isolation (group quarantine) from the 26th, began with the confirmation of nurse A (47, female) from the operating room, the 5th patient in Gyeongnam. An anesthesiologist B (49) who had contact with A was also confirmed positive on the 23rd as the 12th patient in Gyeongnam. Nurse C (53, female) from the neonatal unit, the 37th patient in Gyeongnam, tested positive on the morning of the 26th. Accordingly, Gyeongnam Province, the hospital, and the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency agreed to cohort isolate the hospital.

On the 27th, two additional female nurses in their 40s, responsible for the intensive care unit and emergency room, were confirmed positive. This brings the total number of confirmed medical staff at the hospital to five. A male staff member in his 30s from the management department of Hanmaeum Changwon Hospital also tested positive. It is reported that this staff member was confirmed positive while under self-quarantine since the 22nd.

A hospital official stated, "Since the confirmation occurred during self-quarantine, it is currently expected that the number of contacts after symptom onset is very low," and added, "Among the cohort-isolated patients and guardians, there are no reported symptoms."

However, as medical staff and employees continue to test positive consecutively, concerns about in-hospital infection are becoming a reality, raising anxiety.

When asked about infections among newborns and mothers, a hospital official said, "The authorities are currently conducting an epidemiological investigation, so we will have to wait for the results," and added, "Newborns have been classified as close contacts of C and we are actively responding with various possibilities in mind."

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