16 Confirmed COVID-19 Cases at a Skewer Grill Franchise Restaurant in Gyeongju

1 Confirmed Case Related, Flower Viewing at Sansuyu Village, Gurye, Jeonnam

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghoon Jeong] The number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) linked to a franchise skewer grill restaurant in Gyeongju, Gyeongbuk, has increased to 16.

According to Gyeongbuk Province and Gyeongju City on the 23rd, from the 15th to the 22nd of this month, 16 people including the restaurant owner and their contacts or secondary contacts were infected with COVID-19. Ten confirmed cases directly visited the restaurant, and six were confirmed after contact with them.

The first confirmed case is known to be the restaurant owner, Mr. A, but among the related contacts, there were also people who showed suspected symptoms before Mr. A's symptom onset date (March 13). A 59-year-old woman, Ms. A, showed suspected COVID-19 symptoms on the 13th of this month and tested positive on the 15th. So far, the infection route of Ms. A has not been identified. The restaurant operated by Ms. A is a chain-type casual dining restaurant and pub.

Four employees of the Gyeongju Tax Office who visited the restaurant on the 10th of this month were also confirmed positive. Additionally, two men who visited the restaurant on the 10th and 13th, respectively, and their wives were confirmed positive. On the 22nd, a man who had contact with a colleague who visited the restaurant was confirmed positive. Among these, there were also people who showed suspected symptoms before the 13th, when the restaurant owner showed symptoms.

One of the related confirmed cases is known to have visited Sansuyu Village in Gurye, Jeonnam, on the 18th. Mr. B toured the Sansuyu Village area in Sandong-myeon, Gurye, from 11:05 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on the 18th. Afterwards, at 3:00 p.m., he visited Gurye Geu Yetnal Sanchae Restaurant and stayed there until 5:30 p.m.

A Gyeongju city official said, "So far, it has not been confirmed how the owner was infected," adding, "We are focusing administrative efforts to identify who was initially infected, whether it was a customer or the owner."

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