Police Also on COVID-19 Alert... Police Stations, District Units, and Substations Closed or Quarantined One After Another

Closure Continues for Suspects or Visitors Showing Suspicious Symptoms

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Byung-don] Due to suspects or visitors exhibiting fever symptoms, police stations in the Seoul area have also been engulfed in fear of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19). There have been consecutive incidents of frontline district units or police boxes being temporarily closed and police officers being quarantined.

According to the police, at around 6 p.m. on the 27th, Mr. A, who was voluntarily accompanied to Banpo District Unit on suspicion of embezzlement of occupied property, was handed over to Seocho Police Station for investigation. Mr. A complained of a high fever at around 8:40 p.m. that day and underwent a COVID-19 test at a hospital.

As a result, the criminal division of Seocho Police Station, which investigated Mr. A, and Banpo District Unit were temporarily closed, but they were able to resume operations at around 10 a.m. on the 28th after Mr. A tested negative. The district unit police officers and criminal division staff who had contact with Mr. A had to remain quarantined inside the closed office until then.

Thirteen police officers at Mullae District Unit of Yeongdeungpo Police Station in Seoul also entered self-quarantine on the 27th due to a visitor’s fever symptoms and were released from quarantine after testing negative the next day.

This was due to Ms. B, a woman in her 50s who came to Mullae District Unit at around 2 a.m. that day saying she had “nowhere to go.” When the district unit staff measured Ms. B’s temperature, it was normal, but later the Seoul Station shelter, which took over Ms. B, confirmed fever symptoms and notified the district unit.

Ms. B received a negative result at around 9 a.m. on the 28th, and the police officers were released from quarantine.

The Traffic Center of Jongno Police Station in Seoul was closed from 1:47 a.m. that day due to the possibility that Police Sergeant C, a member of the center, was exposed to COVID-19.

A police official explained that since it was confirmed that Sergeant C had used the same gym as a confirmed patient, the center was disinfected and then closed. Sergeant C and seven other police officers belonging to the Traffic Center had to wait at home until their test results came out.

In addition, an emergency was declared at police stations visited by a confirmed COVID-19 patient who was responsible for blood collection on a blood donation bus.

It was confirmed that the confirmed patient, Ms. D (26, female), worked as a nurse in charge of blood collection on the blood donation bus, which visited Yeongdeungpo Police Station on the 19th of this month, and Gangseo Police Station and Goyang Police Station in Gyeonggi Province on the 25th.

The respective police stations placed employees who donated blood and those who had contact with the confirmed patient under self-quarantine and also undertook disinfection of the buildings.

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