Daegu Call Center Confirmed Cases 57... Kwon Young-jin Appeals to Large Corporations to 'Suspend Operations' (Comprehensive)

Most confirmed cases are included in the list announced by the city
Low possibility of cluster infection like in Seoul, but strict quarantine measures
Daegu Mayor appeals to large companies to suspend call center operations

Daegu Mayor Kwon Young-jin (Photo by Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Jiwon] It has been confirmed that 57 people have tested positive for the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) at a call center located in the Daegu area. Among them, 10 were identified as Shincheonji Church members.

On the 12th, Daegu City announced that it formed a special inspection team of about 40 people, led by the head of the Job Investment Bureau, to conduct on-site inspections and comprehensive investigations of approximately 8,000 employees at 66 centers operating within Daegu.

The investigation also included 10 call centers not registered with the Daegu Contact Center Association, which is managed by the city.

According to the results of the investigation conducted so far, confirmed cases have occurred at 13 contact centers, totaling 57 people. Most of these individuals are already included in the COVID-19 confirmed patient list announced by the city.

The centers where confirmed cases occurred were immediately closed for 14 days, and some businesses have resumed operations after the closure period ended. The city explained, "Currently, 19 centers are taking measures such as closure, disinfection, and self-quarantine, while 47 centers are operating with their own disinfection measures in place."

The city believes that large-scale infection incidents like the one at the Guro-gu call center in Seoul are unlikely to occur since most call centers have been following disinfection measures well. However, to prepare for any unforeseen situations, the city has established a policy to suspend operations of all call centers in Daegu until the end of this month.

Daegu Mayor Kwon Young-jin emphasized during a regular briefing held at Daegu City Hall on the same day, "I earnestly request the large corporations and headquarters management, who are the primary contractors of the call centers," and stressed, "Please fully suspend the operation of contact centers in the Daegu area until the end of March."

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