Daegu City Conducts COVID-19 Testing for 2,648 Caregivers at 73 Hospitals

2020.03.25 COVID-19 Response Daegu Metropolitan City Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters Regular Briefing. (Photo by Daegu City)

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Young-wook] Daegu City has decided to conduct comprehensive diagnostic testing for caregivers identified as a high-risk group for the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

According to Daegu City on the 25th, the total number of caregivers subject to comprehensive diagnostic testing is 2,648, working at 73 hospitals in the region.

The health authorities plan to prioritize testing 1,057 caregivers working at five general hospitals. Subsequently, 1,591 caregivers at 68 secondary hospitals will undergo comprehensive diagnostic testing after consultation with the hospitals.

In Daegu, there was controversy recently as caregivers, who have close contact with patients, were excluded from the comprehensive survey of patients and workers at high-risk COVID-19 facilities such as nursing hospitals.

Previously, Daegu City conducted a comprehensive survey of 1,006 workers at 15 psychiatric hospitals. Among the 24 psychiatric hospitals in the region, nine hospitals where testing had already been completed were excluded from the target. So far, all 81 test results received have been negative.

Chae Hong-ho, Deputy Mayor of Daegu City, explained, "We decided to conduct comprehensive diagnostic testing because we judged that the caregiver group within hospitals could also be a potential trigger for cluster infections."

Meanwhile, as of 0:00 AM on the same day in the Daegu and Gyeongbuk regions, 19 new COVID-19 confirmed cases were added compared to the previous day. The cumulative number of patients increased to 7,718.

In Daegu alone, 14 new confirmed cases were added on the day, bringing the total number of patients to 6,456. In Gyeongbuk, five new COVID-19 confirmed cases occurred, raising the total cumulative number of patients to 1,262.

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