Incheon Academy Instructors Face Multiple Confirmed COVID-19 Cases... Friends of Students Also Infected

Appearance of a private academy located in Michuhol-gu, Incheon, where a COVID-19 confirmed case linked to Itaewon clubs was reported. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] Contacts of a private academy instructor who tested positive for COVID-19 after visiting a club in Itaewon, Seoul, have been consecutively infected.

Incheon City announced on the 14th that B (18), a high school friend of a student who was infected with COVID-19 after taking classes from private academy instructor A (25, patient number 102), also tested positive.

B is a school friend of C (18), a resident of Nonhyeon-dong, Namdong-gu, who was confirmed positive earlier that day. C recently took classes from instructor A at a private academy in Michuhol-gu, Incheon, and C's mother also tested positive for COVID-19 on the same day.

In Incheon, cluster infections are spreading mainly among students who had contact with A, who was confirmed positive after visiting the Itaewon club. As of the morning of that day, there were a total of 14 additional confirmed cases, including one fellow instructor, nine students, two parents, one private tutor, and one acquaintance.

A visited King Club in Itaewon, Seoul, from the 1st to the 3rd, and after being tested at the Michuhol-gu Public Health Center screening clinic on the 8th, was confirmed positive for COVID-19 on the 9th.

During the initial investigation by health authorities, A did not disclose that he was a private academy instructor and stated that he was unemployed, and did not clearly explain his visited locations and movements.

However, Incheon health authorities, suspicious of this, requested the police to check his mobile phone location information (GPS) and discovered on the 12th that he was working as an instructor at a private academy in Michuhol-gu and also conducting private tutoring.

Among the confirmed cases infected through A, two students attended services at two churches located in Michuhol-gu and Dong-gu on the 10th, raising the possibility of further infections.

Health authorities have temporarily closed the private academy and the two churches for disinfection and are conducting diagnostic tests on about 100 students and 1,050 church members.

An Incheon city official stated, "If A had truthfully disclosed his occupation on the 9th when he was confirmed positive, contacts would have entered self-quarantine earlier," and added, "Since A is judged to have obstructed the epidemiological investigation by health authorities, he will be reported to the police on charges of violating the Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Act."

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