Hangang Car Club, Suspected Transmission at Restaurant Gathering on 8th... Confirmed Positive After About Two Weeks (Update)

COVID-19 Central Disease Control Headquarters Regular Briefing
First Symptoms Appeared on Day 12... "Transmission Presumed at Gathering on Day 8"

It has been investigated that about 10 members of a car club, among whom 5 were confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), gathered near the No. 1 parking lot of Yeouido Hangang Park from Monday night on the 15th to early Tuesday morning on the 16th. The photo shows the No. 1 parking lot of Yeouido Hangang Park in Seoul on the 25th.

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] Epidemiological investigation revealed that a gathering at a restaurant took place on the 8th of this month, a week earlier than the initially reported date of the 15th, in connection with a COVID-19 cluster outbreak among an automobile club near the Han River in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul. If the infection occurred at the meeting on the 8th, the confirmed diagnosis was made about fifteen days later, which is expected to broaden the scope of contact tracing by health authorities.

According to the Central Disease Control Headquarters on the 25th, a total of five people tested positive: four members who attended the meeting and one person who was infected through contact but did not attend. Four attendees were confirmed positive on the 23rd, and the contact was confirmed the following day.

The epidemiological investigation found that the earliest symptom onset among the confirmed cases was on the 12th. The automobile club was initially reported to have met on the 15th, but it was confirmed that gatherings also took place on the 8th at a regular restaurant and a pub. The four confirmed cases attended both meetings on the 8th and 15th. Considering the symptom onset dates, health authorities estimate that the infection spread during the meeting on the 8th.

At the regular briefing that day, Kwon Jun-wook, Deputy Director of the Central Disease Control Headquarters, stated, "It is presumed that COVID-19 transmission occurred before the outdoor gatherings such as those at the Han River," adding, "We are investigating the infection routes and contacts."

If this cluster outbreak was indeed transmitted at the meeting on the 8th, it means that the confirmed diagnosis was made only on the 23rd, about fifteen days after the intra-cluster transmission. Although detailed epidemiological investigation results such as the scale of contacts have not yet been released, the considerable time elapsed has made the investigation itself challenging. However, no additional infections have been reported up to now, about two days after the first patient was identified. It has not yet been confirmed whether a quarantine manager was designated at the meeting where the infection is presumed to have occurred, or whether attendees wore masks.

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