Health Authorities: "Daegu Hanmaeum Apartment Outbreak in Mid-February... Many Contacts Presumed Before Quarantine"

46 Confirmed Cases at Daegu Hanmaeum Apartment
92 Shincheonji Believers Reside... First Cohort Quarantine in Apartment
Jung Eun-kyung: "First Onset on 13th Last Month... Presumed Multiple Contacts"

Medical staff and Daegu city officials are waiting for confirmed residents to transfer to a residential treatment center on the morning of the 8th at Hanmaeum Apartment in Dalseo-gu, Daegu, where a cluster of COVID-19 infections occurred.

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] According to the investigation by health authorities, patients in Daegu Hanmaeum Apartment, where 46 confirmed cases of COVID-19 occurred and cohort quarantine (group quarantine) was implemented, showed symptoms starting from mid-February. The 'super-spreader' situation, where Shincheonji Jesus Church Daegu congregation members were simultaneously exposed to the infection source, is estimated to have occurred on either the 9th or 16th of last month, and there remains a possibility of additional patients emerging from this apartment.

On the 8th, the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters for COVID-19 reported that among the 140 residents of Daegu Hanmaeum Apartment, 46 have been confirmed positive. Eighty residents tested negative, and the remaining 16 are awaiting test results. The quarantine task force is currently conducting epidemiological investigations.

As patients rapidly increase centered on Shincheonji Daegu Church believers and those who had contact with them, this is the first time multiple patients have emerged within a specific communal residential facility. Previously, cohort quarantines were implemented in facilities where group infections occurred, such as Cheongdo Daenam Hospital and Bonghwa Pureun Nursing Home, which are medical institutions and nursing homes.

Cohort quarantine is a measure to prevent further spread by isolating patients infected with the same infectious disease within the same facility. This is the first time such a measure has been applied to an apartment. According to Daegu City, 92 of the residents in this apartment are Shincheonji believers. It is a rental apartment operated by the city where only unmarried female workers under 35 years old working at workplaces in Daegu can reside.

At a briefing on the same day, Jung Eun-kyung, head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, said, "(The patients residing in this apartment) had their first onset on February 13th, indicating exposure occurred before self-quarantine rather than during it, and many had mild or no symptoms, so they were confirmed positive through mass testing." The first COVID-19 patient in Daegu was the 31st confirmed case, a Shincheonji believer, diagnosed on the 18th of last month.

Regarding the emergence of multiple patients in this apartment, Director Jung said, "Many Shincheonji believers live in the apartment, and it is very close to the church, so close contact and repeated exposure among believers seem to have occurred," adding, "It has not been confirmed whether residents contacted each other while under self-quarantine." She further stated, "I understand that there is consideration of filing charges against about two residents who did not comply with self-quarantine rules."

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