'Yeongdong 1st Confirmed Case' Infection Route Still Unclear... Local Infection 'Emergency' (Update)

Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kim Seul-gi] As the first confirmed case of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) emerged in Yeongdong, Chungbuk, the infection route remains unknown, raising alarms about community transmission.

According to Chungbuk Province on the 13th, a woman in her 60s, Ms. A, residing in Yangsan-myeon, Yeongdong-gun, was confirmed positive for COVID-19 around 10 a.m. that day.

Ms. A visited the screening clinic at Yeongdong Hospital on the 11th due to symptoms including fever (37.8°C), chills, and sore throat. She is currently isolated and hospitalized at Cheongju Medical Center.

According to the movement path confirmed by health authorities, Ms. A visited a general hospital in Okcheon on the morning of the 9th for joint treatment and had a meal with acquaintances in Yeongdong-eup in the afternoon.

The next day, Ms. A also visited a mart located in Yeongdong-eup between 3 and 4 p.m.

That evening, Ms. A first experienced sore throat symptoms and was confirmed to have visited an otolaryngology clinic in Yeongdong-eup on the morning of the 11th. She reportedly has a history of throat-related illnesses and visited the clinic without suspicion, receiving simple treatment.

Later that evening, as her symptoms worsened with fever, she visited the screening clinic. It was confirmed that Ms. A, who has mobility difficulties, always went out accompanied by her husband and wore a mask at hospitals and marts.

Health authorities closed and disinfected the hospital, restaurant, and mart that Ms. A had visited.

Additionally, COVID-19 tests were conducted on 52 residents who had contact with Ms. A and 230 direct and indirect contacts including acquaintances. All tested negative.

Since no suspected infections were found among Ms. A’s contacts, authorities plan to conduct further epidemiological investigations to carefully check for any missed movement paths or contacts.

Because Ms. A neither had a risk of COVID-19 infection nor visited affected areas, there is concern about an unidentified 'silent infection' with an unknown transmission route.

To prevent community spread, Yeongdong-gun decided to implement social distancing level 2 starting that day and promote strengthened quarantine activities.

A Yeongdong-gun official stated, "We will strengthen quarantine and inspections and promptly disclose related information after thorough review so that residents can live with peace of mind."

Meanwhile, as of the afternoon of the 13th, the cumulative number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Chungbuk, including Ms. A, is 70. Among them, 63 have been discharged.

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