All 88 Contacts at Seoul Garak Market Test Negative for COVID-19

Partial Auction Transactions Resumed Fully from the 16th

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] All individuals who had contact with a confirmed case of COVID-19 at Garak Agricultural and Marine Products Wholesale Market, the largest market in Seoul’s Songpa District, tested negative. Consequently, all transactions within the market, including the cabbage auction where the confirmed case worked, have returned to normal.

On the 16th, the Seoul Agricultural and Marine Products Corporation announced that all 88 people who had contact with a male COVID-19 confirmed case born in 1957 (an employee of Dae-A Cheonggwa) at Garak Market on the 13th tested negative after being examined by the local health center.

On the 13th, the corporation took emergency measures by closing part of the auction site where the confirmed case worked and the shippers’ rest area, conducted comprehensive disinfection of the affected area, and disinfected all logistics equipment such as forklifts.

From the following day, the Songpa District Health Center conducted an epidemiological investigation using closed-circuit television (CCTV). Eighteen close contacts were instructed to self-isolate regardless of their test results, and all 88 individuals who had direct or indirect contact with the confirmed case, including close contacts, were tested.

The confirmed case at Garak Market, a resident of Yangji-dong, Sujeong District, Seongnam City, Gyeonggi Province, is presumed to have been infected by his wife, who is a confirmed case related to Eunhyeui Gang Church in Yangji-dong, Sujeong District, Seongnam.

The corporation stated, "We will devote even greater efforts to supplying safe food to citizens in the metropolitan area by emphasizing mask-wearing and handwashing to all market users, strengthening guidance and inspections on preventive measures such as self-isolation and contacting health authorities if symptoms appear, and mobilizing all disinfection capabilities throughout the market, including the auction site, wholesale dealer stores, restrooms, and Garak Mall."

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