193 Users Visited PC Bang Visited by Gwangju COVID-19 Patient... Gwangju City Implements 'Electronic Entry Log System'

Entry Allowed Only After Scanning QR Code

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Sunghye] It has been confirmed that 193 people, including middle and high school students, used the PC bang where Gwangju COVID-19 patient number 33 stayed for about 8 hours after symptom onset, raising alarms for quarantine authorities. The Gwangju city government decided to implement an electronic entry log system requiring QR code scanning to enter PC bangs.

According to Gwangju city on the 21st, epidemiological investigation of A (a man in his 20s), who was confirmed positive for COVID-19 the previous day, revealed that there are currently 207 direct and indirect contacts.

Among them were 116 users who stayed at the Ialgok-dong Ian PC Cafe at the same time as A, and 77 users who used the facility after A left but before disinfection, totaling 193 people.

Additionally, 6 people who rode the Mugunghwa train with A, 5 bus co-passengers, 1 convenience store worker, and 2 parents were identified as contacts, totaling 14 people. The number of contacts among train, bus, and PC bang users is expected to increase over time.

In particular, although the PC bang operated on a membership basis, only 64 people’s identities have been confirmed, and more than two-thirds, 129 people, remain unidentified. There are six middle and high schools near the PC bang, so a significant number are presumed to be students.

Gwangju city judged that the accuracy and reliability of the PC bang entry logs could not be guaranteed and decided to implement the electronic entry log system at all PC bangs starting from the 22nd.

Although karaoke rooms, entertainment bars, and indoor group exercise facilities are not included in the government’s target facilities, the city explained that PC bangs were frequently identified in the movement paths of previous confirmed cases and, considering the characteristics of enclosed space activities, were designated as high-risk facilities.

A is presumed to have been infected on the 12th in Jeonju, overlapping movement paths with Daejeon COVID-19 patients number 50 and 55. It was investigated that A’s visit time overlapped for about 22 minutes at a youth cafe in Jeonju with the Daejeon patients. After contact with the infection source, A mainly stayed in Jeonju until the 18th, then boarded Mugunghwa train number 1463, car 3 (seats 21?47) at 9 p.m. on the 19th, departing from Iksan Station and arriving at Gwangju Station at 10:17 p.m.

From Gwangju Station, A took bus number 07, got off at Ialgok Intersection, and stayed at Ian PC Cafe from 11 p.m. until 6:50 a.m. the next day (the 20th). On the 20th at around 1:30 p.m., A stopped by E-Mart Everyday in Ialgok-dong, then moved by guardian’s vehicle to the Buk-gu Public Health Center, where a specimen was collected at 2 p.m.

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