Incheon Academy Instructor-Originated 3rd Wave Infections Continue... Elementary Student Confirmed Positive After Contact with Tutored Middle School Girl

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

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] A third wave of infections caused by a private academy instructor who tested positive for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) after visiting a club in Itaewon, Seoul, is continuing.

Incheon City announced on the 15th that A (10), a 4th-grade elementary school student residing in Songdo International City, Yeonsu-gu, tested positive for COVID-19.

A was confirmed to have stayed at the same academy in Songdo on the 8th with B (13), a middle school student who had previously tested positive. B is a student who received private tutoring from instructor C (25), who works at a cram school in Michuhol-gu, Incheon, and tested positive on the 13th.

The two students were at the academy together for about one hour. The place where they interacted was known as a self-study area where students study individually and ask the instructor questions separately, and A was not wearing a mask at that time.

A showed symptoms of abdominal pain on the 11th and visited the Yeonsu-gu Public Health Center on the 14th for a specimen test, which came back positive, leading to an emergency transfer to Inha University Hospital.

Health authorities are conducting specimen tests on three close contacts, including A’s parents and sibling, and are strengthening quarantine measures focusing on A’s movement path.

As of the morning of this day, the total number of confirmed cases related to the academy instructor has increased to 15. This includes one fellow instructor, 10 students, two parents, one private tutor, and one acquaintance.

In particular, among these confirmed cases, there are quite a few cases presumed to be 'third-generation infections' who tested positive despite having no contact with C.

Besides A, four others?including a mother of an academy student, another private tutor of twin siblings who received tutoring from C, and a friend of a confirmed high school student?are presumed to have been infected through third-generation transmission without contact with instructor C.

Meanwhile, Incheon City filed a complaint with the Michuhol Police Station the previous day against instructor C for violating the Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Act by falsely claiming to be unemployed and providing false statements about their movement.

Incheon Mayor Park Namchun stated on his Facebook, "Due to (C’s) false statements, infected students were not quarantined in advance and were fully exposed to the local community over the past weekend," adding, "Two students infected by the instructor attended church services, creating a dangerous situation where a cluster infection could spread within the church."

C 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.

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