Four Family Members Including Elementary and Kindergarten Students Confirmed COVID-19 Positive in Incheon

Students are maintaining social distancing while waiting for specimen testing at an elementary school in Incheon where a student tested positive.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] In Incheon, a family of four, including a kindergartener and elementary school students, tested positive for the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

According to Incheon City on the 14th, a fourth-grade student A (10) at Incheon Hyoseong Elementary School living in Gyeyang-gu and three other family members tested positive for COVID-19.

On the 12th, A developed a fever up to 37.8 degrees Celsius and showed coughing symptoms, so he was tested the next day at a screening clinic in a hospital in Gyeyang-gu. He was confirmed positive that day and transferred to Inha University Hospital.

Later that afternoon, A’s parents and younger sibling B (6), a kindergartener, also tested positive.

From the 10th to the 12th, A visited the Cheongun Community Child Center and study room in Hyoseong 1-dong, Gyeyang-gu for three days and stayed home after 6 p.m. daily. On the weekend prior, he also visited a hospital and pharmacy in Jakjeon 2-dong, Gyeyang-gu.

However, the infection route for A’s family has not been clearly identified, and health authorities are conducting additional epidemiological investigations.

A’s mother (41) previously worked at the Coupang logistics center in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, where multiple cases were confirmed, but she recently tested negative and was released from self-quarantine.

Meanwhile, the Incheon Metropolitan Office of Education announced that in-person classes at Incheon Hyoseong Elementary School, where A is enrolled, and the attached kindergarten of Incheon Myeonghyeon Elementary School, attended by B, will be suspended and switched to remote learning until the 26th of this month.

Health authorities set up a walk-through screening clinic around noon at the Incheon Hyoseong Elementary School playground and tested contacts including staff and students.

The test subjects included 220 people: 119 students who attended school or used the care classroom on the 12th, 55 staff members, and 18 parents. Results are expected late that afternoon or early on the 15th.

Additionally, seven kindergarten students and six teachers at Myeonghyeon Elementary School’s attached kindergarten, as well as 22 enrolled students, are also undergoing specimen testing.

An official from the Incheon Metropolitan Office of Education stated, "For now, remote classes will continue at Hyoseong Elementary and Myeonghyeon Elementary’s attached kindergarten until the 26th, and based on test results, a decision will be made whether to resume in-person classes from the 29th."

In Incheon, COVID-19 cumulative confirmed cases have reached 319 as of today, with recent infections linked to a pioneering church gathering and the Coupang Bucheon logistics center.

As COVID-19 continues to spread mainly in the metropolitan area, Incheon City has decided to indefinitely extend the "Incheon-style social distancing" until the situation stabilizes.

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