Mayor Park Won-soon: "Thorough Investigation of Guro Call Center Cluster Infection ... Will Secure Complete Control"

No confirmed cases on floors other than the call center... Additional testing underway for officetel residents

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun visited the screening clinic at Korea Building in Guro-gu, Seoul, a site of a COVID-19 cluster infection, on the 12th to receive a briefing on the quarantine situation. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] Regarding the largest cluster infection of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the Seoul metropolitan area at the Guro-gu call center, Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon once again emphasized that thorough testing would be conducted to prevent further spread.

On the afternoon of the 12th, during his visit to the Guro call center site, Mayor Park told Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun, "Although cluster infections occurred at two churches in the Seoul area earlier, they did not spread widely, and facilities such as Eunpyeong St. Mary's Hospital and Paik Hospital have been firmly controlled. The Guro call center case is significant, but we will manage and resolve it using similar methods."

Considering the 14-day incubation period, it is still too early to be assured, but the Seoul city government’s policy is to manage the situation by identifying and encouraging testing for all visitors to the Korea Building where the call center is located.

Mayor Park also pointed out, "Call centers are generally outsourced by large corporations, so the working environment is very poor and close contact is inevitable. This is an opportunity to implement comprehensive telecommuting measures in the call center industry."

Lee Sung, head of Guro-gu district office who accompanied the site visit, explained, "There are still many people at the Korea Building call center who need to undergo specimen testing," adding, "Out of 550 call center workers on the 7th to 9th floors, 400 have been tested, and more than 110 are still awaiting results."

The call center occupies the 7th to 9th and 11th floors of the building, with the 10th floor used as an educational space. So far, most confirmed cases are workers on the 11th floor and their families, and only two confirmed cases have been reported from other floors.

The 1st to 4th floors house a wedding hall and convenience store, the 5th floor is vacant, and the 6th floor contains other offices, where all 86 employees have tested negative. Additionally, among 182 residents tested so far in the 132 officetel units located on the 13th to 19th floors, all have tested negative.

Lee added, "Since there is no accurate resident list for the officetel, we are verifying and conducting tests by room number."

Prime Minister Chung urged that, as small-scale cluster infections are occurring frequently, measures should be taken to overcome and manage the situation effectively.

He said, "The Seoul metropolitan area, with its dense population, is the ideal environment for infectious diseases, so without more thorough preparation, we cannot overcome them. We must learn from the Guro call center case to prevent recurrence." He also noted, "After the Daegu case, nursing hospitals were closely monitored, but call centers were not adequately addressed. Please conduct more detailed preemptive inspections and establish countermeasures for call centers nationwide."

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