'46 COVID-19 Cases' Reported at Guro-gu Call Center...Concerns Over Metropolitan Area 'Quarantine Blackhole'

Ace Insurance Call Center Where a Woman in Her 50s Tested Positive

46 Related Cases Including Employees, Trainees, and Family Members Confirmed

Cases Reported in 12 Local Governments Including Seoul’s Guro and Dongjak Districts, Incheon, and Anyang in Gyeonggi Province

Korea Building in Sindorim-dong, Guro-gu, Seoul, where a large number of COVID-19 cases have been confirmed.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Dong-hoon] As of the 10th, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases linked to the Ace Insurance call center in Guro-gu, Seoul, has reached 46. This is the largest cluster infection case among those reported in the Seoul metropolitan area, including Seoul, Incheon, and Gyeonggi Province. While the spread of COVID-19 centered around Daegu and Gyeongbuk has slowed, the cluster infection at the Guro-gu call center has triggered a red alert for quarantine efforts in the metropolitan area. It is suspected that the cluster infection occurred due to failure to follow quarantine rules such as not wearing masks, and the scale of the damage is expected to increase further.

◆ 46 Confirmed Cases in Two Days After a Woman in Her 50s Tested Positive = As of 10 a.m. on the day, the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases related to the Guro-gu call center announced by Guro-gu Office, Incheon City, and other local governments reached 46. The number of related confirmed cases, which had reached 28 by midnight the previous day, continued to increase on the morning of the 10th. Among the call center employees, a 56-year-old woman living in Nowon-gu was the first to test positive on the 8th after undergoing diagnostic testing. Subsequently, a 51-year-old female colleague living in Eunpyeong-gu and her husband (57 years old) were confirmed positive on the 9th.

As confirmed cases continued to rise, Guro-gu quarantined all employees of the Ace Insurance call center (11th floor) located in the Korea Building in Sindorim-dong from the morning of the previous day and closed the office. Disinfection work was carried out throughout the entire building, and a full closure order was issued for office spaces from the 1st to the 12th floor of the building. It is known that a total of 207 people worked in the call center office, including 148 call center employees and 59 trainees. Among them, 54 people were tested for COVID-19 by the Guro-gu Public Health Center, and 13 tested positive. In addition, many call center employees and trainees who were tested at screening clinics in various regions have been confirmed positive. Some family members have also tested positive in certain areas.

Although the call center is located in Sindorim-dong, Guro-gu, Seoul, many infections occurred among residents living outside Seoul. The Korea Building, where the call center is located, is situated between Guro Station and Sindorim Station, where Seoul Subway Lines 1 and 2 intersect, making commuting easy for residents of Incheon and Gyeonggi Province. As a result, a significant number of employees are believed to reside in Incheon and Gyeonggi areas.

By region, there were 7 cases in Guro-gu, 5 in Gangseo-gu, 4 in Gwanak-gu, 2 each in Yangcheon, Eunpyeong, Geumcheon, and Dongjak-gu, and 1 in Nowon-gu in Seoul. Outside Seoul, infections were reported in Incheon City (13), Anyang in Gyeonggi Province (4), Gwangmyeong (3), and 1 confirmed case in Gimpo. Most of these are employees who accessed the Ace Insurance call center. In Eunpyeong-gu, the husband of a confirmed call center employee also tested positive.

A temporary testing site has been set up in front of the Korea Building in Sindorim-dong, Guro-gu, Seoul, where a large number of COVID-19 cases have been confirmed. Residents are undergoing COVID-19 testing. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Call Center Located at the Intersection of Seoul Subway Lines 1 and 2

Majority of Commuters Reside in Incheon and Gyeonggi Province

Possibility of Not Wearing Masks Due to Call Center Work Characteristics

◆ Possible Cause: Not Wearing Masks, etc. = The reason for the large number of confirmed COVID-19 cases is presumed to be related to the nature of the call center. There is a possibility that quarantine rules were not followed, such as removing masks to clearly convey pronunciation. A corporate official operating the call center said, "Although there are guidelines to wear masks, many employees take off their masks during calls because it affects communication clarity," adding, "In the case of the Guro-gu call center, employees may have worked while continuously receiving calls without masks and unconsciously talking with colleagues." A Guro-gu official also stated, "There is a possibility of droplet infection due to the nature of the call center," and "A more accurate investigation is underway through epidemiological studies."

There are also concerns about infections within the building. The Korea Building, completed in 2010, is a large building with six basement floors and 19 above-ground floors (total floor area of 92,374.6㎡, approximately 27,943 pyeong). The building houses multiple facilities, including a Starbucks on the first floor, a wedding hall, and a postpartum care center.

Previously, cluster infections occurred in the metropolitan area at Eunpyeong St. Mary's Hospital (15 cases), a management office of a residential-commercial complex in Seongdong-gu (13 cases), a senior welfare center in Jongno-gu (10 cases), and Saengmyeongsaem Church in Suwon (100 cases). Based on the numbers identified so far, the Guro-gu call center cluster is feared to become the largest cluster infection case in the metropolitan area.

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