COVID-19 Spreads Daily in Sejong Government Circles... 'Drive-Through' Screening Clinic Installed at Sejong Government Complex

On the morning of the 10th, disinfection personnel are sanitizing the interior of the Government Complex Sejong, Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, in Sejong City, where a COVID-19 case was confirmed.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Joo Sang-don] As new confirmed cases of COVID-19 continue to occur daily within the Government Sejong Complex, concerns about cluster infections are growing. In response, a drive-thru screening clinic has been set up in the parking lot near the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries.

According to Sejong City on the 13th, two officials from the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and the wife of one of the ministry’s officials tested positive for COVID-19, totaling three confirmed cases.

As a result, the cumulative number of confirmed cases in the Sejong area reached 34. Among them, central government officials include 20 from the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, and one each from the Presidential Archives, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health and Welfare, and Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs, totaling 24. There are four family members of officials and six general citizens.

With the increase in confirmed cases, Sejong City has expanded the drive-thru lane within the screening clinic from one to two since the 11th, allowing up to 20 tests per hour. On the 11th, 339 people were tested, followed by 272 on the 12th.

On the 13th, a drive-thru screening clinic was also established in the 3rd and 4th parking lots near the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. Sejong City plans to conduct testing for over 600 employees of the ministry. As of the previous day, 309 people had been tested.

As confirmed cases centered around the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries have significantly increased, concerns about the spread to adjacent ministries are also rising. Notably, on the 13th, a confirmed case was reported in the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries’ Audit Office, which is located not in the Ministry’s building but in the Ministry of Economy and Finance building. This means COVID-19 has spread from Building 5, where the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries is located, to the adjacent Building 4. Accordingly, the Ministry of Economy and Finance has disinfected the affected floor and recommended minimizing movement.

Meanwhile, the Government Complex Management Headquarters is strengthening quarantine measures to prevent further spread of COVID-19 within the Sejong Complex. On the 3rd, connecting corridors between buildings in the Sejong Complex were closed, and on the 11th, the facial recognition system allowing mask removal upon entry was suspended at four government complexes nationwide in Seoul, Sejong, Gwacheon, and Daejeon, so that masks do not need to be removed when entering.

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