Confirmed COVID-19 Case in 20s Female from Yeongdeok Visiting Sarang Jeil Church... Consecutive Infections in Gyeongbuk Following Sangju and Pohang

Cumulative COVID-19 Cases in Gyeongbuk Reach 1,374 as of 17th
47 Gyeongbuk Residents Visited Sarang Jeil Church from 7th to 13th... Concerns Over Mass Infections

As COVID-19 cases rapidly spread in the Seoul metropolitan area, an alley leading to Sarang Jeil Church in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, was blocked off on the afternoon of the 17th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Park Dong-wook] Following Sangju, a woman in her 20s in Yeongdeok-gun, Gyeongbuk, who had visited Seoul Sarang Jeil Church, was confirmed positive for the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

In Gyeongbuk, after a woman in her 60s in Sangju on the 16th, two women in Pohang and Yeongdeok were also confirmed positive after visiting Sarang Jeil Church around the same time on the 17th, causing the local governments to be on high alert.

According to Gyeongbuk Province on the 17th, the woman in her 20s who attended the Sarang Jeil Church service on the 12th and returned home to Yeongdeok by call van on the afternoon of the 16th showed symptoms of fever and sore throat. She underwent specimen testing on the morning of the 17th and was confirmed positive, subsequently being admitted to Andong Medical Center.

A Yeongdeok-gun official stated, "It is understood that there was no contact that could have transmitted the virus after arriving in Yeongdeok," adding, "Disinfection work was carried out at her home, and her movements prior to coming to Yeongdeok were identified and reported to Seoul City."

On the same day in Pohang, there was an incident where a COVID-19 positive patient related to Sarang Jeil Church fled before being transferred to Andong Medical Center but was caught after 4 hours. A woman in her 40s, classified as a contact of a confirmed case on the 16th and notified of her positive result on the 17th, ran away around 12:15 PM despite her family’s attempts to stop her, but was apprehended 4 hours later and transferred to Andong Medical Center.

Earlier, it was confirmed that a woman in her 60s living in Sangju attended Sarang Jeil Church services from the 9th to the 12th and was confirmed positive after returning home on the 16th. Accordingly, the number of COVID-19 confirmed cases in the Gyeongbuk area has increased to 1,374.

Between the 7th and 13th, 47 residents of Gyeongbuk Province visited Sarang Jeil Church (as of 3 PM on the 16th), according to Gyeongbuk Province. The results of specimen tests for these individuals are expected to be announced by the 18th at the latest.

Meanwhile, separately from these community infections, a 31-year-old Bangladeshi residing in Gyeongsan, who visited his hometown in March and returned through Incheon Airport on the 2nd, tested positive in a test conducted upon the end of his self-quarantine and was admitted to Andong Medical Center on the 16th.

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