Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries Officials Confirmed Positive One After Another '12 in a Day'... Concerns of Cross-Infection with Local Community Rise (Comprehensive)

[Asia Economy (Sejong) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] The number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) is rapidly increasing at the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. Due to the continuous news of additional confirmed cases, concerns about cross-infection between the local community and the Government Sejong Complex, where the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries is located, are growing.

According to Sejong City on the 12th, as of 6:10 PM that day, six public officials affiliated with the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries were newly confirmed positive for COVID-19.

In the local area, six Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries officials were also confirmed positive simultaneously in the morning of the same day. Within a day, a total of 12 public officials belonging to the same institution were confirmed positive for COVID-19 in multiple cases.

In particular, the number of confirmed cases among Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries officials accounts for more than half of the cumulative confirmed cases in the region. As of 6:10 PM on the same day in Sejong, 30 confirmed cases occurred, of which 17 were Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries officials.

The problem is that despite the continuous news of confirmed cases among Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries officials, the infection routes have not yet been clearly identified.

For example, the second confirmed case in the region, a Zumba dance instructor, is presumed to have been infected with COVID-19 after attending a Zumba dance instructor workshop held on the 15th of last month in Buldang-dong, Cheonan.

Also, the infection routes between this instructor, Zumba dance students, and contacts of the students have been revealed through epidemiological investigations.

The city and quarantine authorities have also found links between the Zumba dance instructor and public officials from the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Presidential Archives, and the Ministry of Personnel Management.

However, in the case of confirmed cases at the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, most of the details about when, where, and how they were infected with COVID-19 remain unclear.

This has become a background factor that increases concerns about cross-infection between the local community and the Sejong Complex.

In fact, the COVID-19 infection spread that started through the Zumba dance instructor (#2) recently showed a pattern of moving from the local community to the Sejong Complex (Zumba dance instructor → Ministry of Health and Welfare officials (students · #3)) and then from the Sejong Complex back to the local community (Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and Ministry of Education officials → family infections).

Considering this pattern, the possibility of infectious disease spread from the Sejong Complex back to the local community cannot be ruled out, which is increasing anxiety in the local community.

Conscious of this anxiety, the city recently requested the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters to establish a separate screening clinic within the Sejong Complex. Since the number of COVID-19 confirmed cases continues to increase inside the Sejong Complex, this is interpreted as a strategy to take preemptive measures through rapid testing.

Also, the city's basic policy is to strengthen joint response systems with the government to prevent cross-spread of COVID-19 between the local community and the Sejong Complex.

Sejong Mayor Lee Chun-hee said, "As the number of confirmed cases among Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries officials steadily increases, concerns about group infections among public officials and cross-infection between the local community and the Sejong Complex are growing. The city plans to first conduct a full investigation while placing Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries employees under self-quarantine, and then expand the scope of testing to officials from other ministries."

He added, "Above all, the city will focus on breaking the chain of infectious disease spread between the local community and the Sejong Complex through cooperation with the government."

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