Busan High School Students Working Part-Time at Chicken Restaurant Spread 'Asymptomatic' COVID-19...Health Authorities on Alert (Update)

Busan Mechanical Technical High School COVID-19 Test. Provided by Haeundae-gu Public Health Center. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Seulgi Kim] Another student (No. 197) from a different school who had contact with patient No. 191, a student at Busan Mechanical Technical High School, has tested positive for COVID-19. It is presumed that patient No. 191 was asymptomatic at the time of first contact, raising alarms for health authorities.

According to Busan City and the City Office of Education on the 14th, student B (No. 197), a second-year student at specialized high school A located in Nam-gu, Busan, was notified of a positive COVID-19 diagnosis on the 14th. Student No. 197 was classified as a contact of student No. 191 from Busan Mechanical Technical High School, who had already been confirmed positive.

During the process of tracing the movements of student No. 191, health authorities also confirmed that student No. 197 tested positive. It was confirmed that the two students worked part-time together at a chicken restaurant in Jung-dong, Haeundae-gu, from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. on the 8th.

The City Office of Education and health authorities believe that infection likely occurred during contact on the 8th. At that time, student No. 191 is presumed to have been asymptomatic.

Health authorities judged that since high school A had held its vacation ceremony on the 7th and had entered summer vacation, there is no possibility of infection spreading to other students at high school A due to the confirmation of student No. 197.

After contact with student No. 191, student No. 197 is known to have engaged in various activities, including visiting a gym in Banyeo-dong, Haeundae-gu, while remaining asymptomatic.

Student No. 197 is still reported to be asymptomatic.

Authorities are taking this situation seriously, concerned about the possibility of COVID-19 spreading through close contact while asymptomatic.

Meanwhile, patient No. 191 had reported symptoms of fever and sore throat in a self-health check on the 10th, stopped attending school, and visited a screening clinic for examination.

Although student No. 191 ceased attending school and rested at home, symptoms did not improve, leading to a visit to Haeundae Health Center on the 12th for a COVID-19 screening test, which returned positive on the 13th.

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