COVID-19 Clean Area Ulleungdo 'Sigh of Relief' ... All Close Contacts Test Negative

Urgent: Firefighting Helicopter Deployed for Contact Testing After Confirmed Case at Sarangjeil Church
All 31 Contacts Test Negative... "Still Cannot Relax Due to Self-Quarantine"

On the afternoon of the 17th, it was confirmed that a COVID-19 positive case related to Seoul Sarang Jeil Church traveled to Ulleungdo for 4 nights and 5 days. Passengers are boarding a ferry at Jeodong Port, Ulleungdo, Ulleung-gun, Gyeongsangbuk-do.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Dong-wook] Ulleungdo, a 'corona clean area' that fell into a state of high tension after it was belatedly revealed that a confirmed COVID-19 patient had visited family members, has breathed a sigh of relief as all contacts tested negative.

According to Gyeongbuk Province and Ulleung County on the 18th, a 14-year-old female middle school student who visited relatives in Ulleungdo with her family for 4 nights and 5 days from the 10th to the 14th was confirmed positive on the 16th after returning to her home in Seoul. The test was conducted after a friend attending the same church as A, a member of Sarang Jeil Church in Seoul, was confirmed positive for COVID-19. A's parents tested negative.

Immediately after this fact was revealed, Ulleung County, which was on high alert for quarantine, transported specimens from 31 close contacts to the Health and Environment Research Institute using a Gyeongbuk Province fire helicopter on the afternoon of the 17th, and launched an all-out disinfection of A's visited locations, causing a commotion in the area.

The test results for these individuals came out at 8 p.m. that night, and all were negative. Since the first COVID-19 case was reported in Gyeongbuk on February 18, Ulleungdo has maintained its status as a clean area. (According to the Gyeongbuk Province status based on the place of report, there are no confirmed cases in Ulleung County.)

Kim Byung-su, the mayor of Ulleung County, said, "Fortunately, all close contacts tested negative, but since close contacts are still under self-quarantine, we cannot be complacent yet," and pledged, "We will do our best together with all residents to protect clean Ulleung from COVID-19."

Meanwhile, as of midnight on the 18th, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Gyeongbuk increased to 1,375, with four infections linked to Sarang Jeil Church emerging in Sangju, Yeongdeok, and Pohang on the 16th and 17th.

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