Mayor Park Won-soon: "Investigating Infection Routes at Samsung Seoul Hospital... Situation Still Controllable"

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] Four nurses at Samsung Medical Center have tested positive for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), and Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon stated, "There is no need to quarantine the entire hospital yet, and the situation is controllable."

Since this hospital was heavily affected during the 2015 MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) outbreak, there are concerns about further infection spread, but he emphasized that the situation is different this time.

In an interview with CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show' on the morning of the 20th, Mayor Park said, "During the MERS outbreak, infections within the hospital were severe and spread nationwide due to the government's secrecy and lack of communication despite knowing the infection risk," adding, "It is very different now compared to then."

He explained, "The Park Geun-hye administration did not disclose that a Samsung Medical Center doctor tested positive and attended events with many unspecified people, which led me to hold a briefing late at night," and "Now, the government and local governments are closely cooperating in response."

He assessed that the current situation at Samsung Medical Center is controllable. Mayor Park said, "A considerable amount of testing has been done, and only four positive cases have been confirmed so far, so there is no need to cohort quarantine the entire hospital at this time," adding, "Epidemiological investigations are complete, and excessive testing is ongoing, so it is not serious enough to warrant cohort quarantine."

He continued, "In the case of infections originating from the Itaewon clubs, the first confirmed case had an unclear infection route, but a full investigation was conducted to bring the situation under control," emphasizing, "(The scope at Samsung Medical Center is) more limited than Itaewon clubs, so it can be sufficiently contained."

However, the infection routes of the four nurses who tested positive remain unclear, and Seoul city and quarantine authorities are conducting multifaceted investigations. In a subsequent interview with KBS1 Radio's 'Kim Kyung-rae's Strong Current Affairs,' Mayor Park explained, "The confirmed nurses have not recently visited Itaewon clubs or traveled abroad. Their families and acquaintances all tested negative," adding, "We have secured CCTV footage along their movement paths and are conducting a detailed investigation of their movements inside and outside the hospital."

He also announced a policy to continue specimen testing even if no further confirmed cases occur, due to the high number of asymptomatic infections. Mayor Park said, "We held the first 'Preemptive Testing Committee' today to select targets for preemptive testing, aiming to routinely test high-risk groups with a high possibility of infection," adding, "Hospitals, elderly care facilities, entertainment establishments, and foreign arrivals will be the main targets."

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