Resident of Muan-gun in Contact with Hampyeong Confirmed Case Tests 'Negative'

All 8 Family Members of Confirmed Patient and Cafe Employees Test Negative

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Seo Young-seo] On the 5th, according to Muan County and health authorities, one person who had contact with the 26th confirmed COVID-19 case in Jeonnam, a confirmed patient from Hampyeong, tested negative for COVID-19.

On the 4th, Ms. B, a woman in her 50s working at the customer service office of Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) Hampyeong branch, was classified as the 26th confirmed COVID-19 case in Jeonnam and was transferred to Gangjin Medical Center.

After Ms. B tested positive consecutively in the first private institution test and the second test conducted by the Jeonnam Provincial Institute of Health and Environment, the local government in charge of her workplace, Hampyeong County, went on high alert.

Hampyeong County, considering that Ms. B, who was in charge of civil service work, may have had direct or indirect contact with residents, issued an emergency disaster text message today, notifying that residents who visited the KEPCO Hampyeong branch from the 29th of last month to the 3rd of this month should visit the health center for testing regardless of symptoms.

It was confirmed that Ms. B showed prodromal symptoms such as dry cough and general fatigue starting from the 1st. As symptoms persisted, she visited the Hampyeong County Health Center screening clinic on the 3rd to have a specimen collected. The test conducted through a private institution resulted in a first positive diagnosis on the morning of the 4th.

Health authorities transferred and isolated Ms. B at Gangjin Medical Center for an accurate diagnosis and requested a second test from the Jeonnam Provincial Institute of Health and Environment. As the result again came out positive that afternoon, she was finally classified as the 26th confirmed case in Jeonnam.

According to epidemiological investigation, it was found that on the 28th of last month, Ms. B had overlapped movements with the 57th confirmed case in Gwangju (infection from Sarang Church) at a sauna in Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju, and quarantine authorities are currently tracing the exact infection route.

Muan County collected a specimen from Mr. C, a colleague of Ms. B residing in Muan, at 2 p.m. on the 4th and conducted a COVID-19 test, which came back negative that evening.

Additionally, specimens were collected from three family members including Ms. B’s husband, son, and daughter, as well as a total of eight people including employees at the family-operated cafe. The tests requested from the Jeonnam Provincial Institute of Health and Environment all returned negative results.

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