Confirmed Case Movement Data Older Than 2 Weeks Removed from Internet... "Private Channels Like KakaoTalk Are Not Detected" (Update)

Citizens waiting to be tested at a screening clinic set up at Songpa-gu Public Health Center in Seoul on the 10th, as health authorities continue testing contacts including students after a staff member at Gangnam Daesung Academy was confirmed positive for COVID-19. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] The government has decided to implement a measure to delete the movement information of confirmed COVID-19 cases disclosed on the internet after a certain period. Currently, local governments conduct epidemiological investigations and delete the information two weeks after the patient last met a contact, but this measure is in response to concerns that continuous exposure of movement information causes additional damage to businesses associated with the patients.

According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters on the 10th, the government will unify the deletion request process through the Korea Internet & Security Agency to respond to deletion requests from local governments. Although local governments delete the information after a certain period on their websites or self-operated social network services (SNS), many other sites do not. The government plans to request internet service providers such as portal sites and media outlets to voluntarily delete or obscure such movement information.

Kim Kang-lip, the 1st General Coordinator of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, said at a briefing, "The purpose of disclosing movement information is to quickly reveal the routes where confirmed patients may have been infected to prevent further infections. It is inappropriate to use this information for purposes beyond this." He added, "Currently, related laws only cover the disclosure of movement information, but we will explore ways to include provisions for deleting information online."

Specifically, the government plans to expand monitoring personnel to check whether outdated confirmed patient movement information remains on the internet, and will notify local governments by creating related guidelines and templates at the government level. A representative from the Korea Communications Commission explained, "We will not detect private conversations such as KakaoTalk, but will detect outdated information among publicly accessible information and request related service providers to voluntarily delete it."

Meanwhile, the government referred to the incident where a nurse collapsed while working at a screening clinic the previous day and distributed operational guidelines to improve working conditions. This is because wearing thick protective suits in the summer can easily cause fatigue. According to the guidelines, four types of personal protective equipment (surgical gown, face shield, N95 mask, gloves), including a full-body gown, are recommended. The screening clinics will operate on a reservation basis, and measures such as providing drinking water and air conditioners, installing outdoor shades at clinics, and reducing operating hours in the afternoon have been revised. Cooling and heating devices will be provided to all 614 screening clinics established in medical institutions and public health centers.

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