"Excluded from Bundang Jesaeng Hospital Director Contact List"... Over 140 Staff Members Missing (Update)

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ko Hyung-kwang] Bundang Jesaeng Hospital in Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, where a cluster infection of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) occurred, has been criticized for submitting a list to the Gyeonggi-do quarantine authorities that omitted the names of about 140 employees, including the director, who had contact with confirmed cases, causing setbacks in epidemiological investigations and contributing to the spread of infection. Gyeonggi-do is considering measures to take necessary actions against Bundang Jesaeng Hospital in accordance with the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act.

Lee Hee-young, co-leader of the Gyeonggi-do COVID-19 Emergency Response Team, stated on the 18th, "Following two confirmed cases on the 16th, two more confirmed cases, including the director, were reported today," adding, "They informed the hospital that they had visited Ward 81, where the risk of infection is high."

However, right after the cluster infection was disclosed with nine confirmed cases on the 6th, the list of hospital contacts submitted by the hospital to the Gyeonggi-do epidemiological investigation team did not include these four individuals.

Lee said, "It was confirmed that these individuals were not placed under self-quarantine, and the hospital did not inform the epidemiological investigation team of their names." He added, "If the statements of these employees are accurate, it is judged to be a deliberate omission by the hospital, which is considered a very serious situation."

Furthermore, Lee pointed out, "The hospital, which should have cooperated with the provincial epidemiological investigation team to quickly self-quarantine contacts of confirmed cases to prevent further spread, instead omitted the list of 144 contacts, allowing them to move freely inside and outside the hospital." He criticized, "This concern materialized as four additional confirmed cases, including the director, emerged on the 16th and 18th among employees not subject to self-quarantine, resulting in about 870 contacts."

He emphasized, "The recently received additional list of contacts from Ward 81 from the hospital included access card records, unlike the first list. From this, it is believed that the hospital could have sufficiently identified the omitted employees' names earlier."

Since the first confirmed case occurred on the 5th at Bundang Jesaeng Hospital, a total of 29 people have been infected with COVID-19. They include 2 doctors, 9 nurses, 6 nursing assistants, 1 nursing administrative staff, 1 clinical pathologist, 7 patients, 2 caregivers, and 1 visitor.

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