First COVID-19 Case Confirmed Among National Police Agency Headquarters Staff... 13th Floor of Building Closed (Comprehensive)

81% of Police Officers Deployed at Gwangbokjeol Rally Have Completed Testing

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] An employee at the National Police Agency headquarters tested positive for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), leading to the closure of some floors in the building. This is the first time a confirmed case has occurred at the headquarters.

According to the National Police Agency on the 21st, one employee belonging to the Information and Communication Convergence Division working at the police headquarters in Migeun-dong, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, was notified by health authorities of a positive COVID-19 diagnosis at around 8:50 a.m. that day. The police have closed the 13th floor, where the officer worked, and are currently conducting disinfection measures.

While confirmed cases have occasionally occurred at frontline police stations, district units, and police boxes, or these facilities have been temporarily closed due to visits by confirmed cases, this is the first time a confirmed case has been reported at the National Police Agency headquarters, where the Police Commissioner and many senior officials work. An epidemiological investigation will be conducted to determine the infection route of the employee. However, it has been reported that the employee was not among the officers deployed during the Gwangbokjeol Gwanghwamun rally. A police official stated, "We are currently tracking the recent movements of the employee," adding, "Necessary measures such as self-quarantine have been taken for colleagues who worked together."

Meanwhile, the police plan to complete COVID-19 testing for about 9,500 officers who responded to the Gwangbokjeol rally by the end of the day. As of 8 a.m., 7,751 (81.3%) of the 9,536 officers targeted for testing had been tested, with four confirmed positive cases among them.

The confirmed cases include one officer each from the 16th, 34th, 42nd, and 43rd Mobile Units of the Seoul Police Agency. Among them, one was transported to a hospital at around 10:40 p.m. the previous day, while the remaining three are self-isolating under the guidance of health authorities.

They are expected to be transferred to isolation wards or residential treatment centers in the future. A police official said, "Other members of the units where confirmed cases occurred have completed diagnostic tests and are self-isolating according to health authorities' instructions," adding, "We will strictly adhere to quarantine rules and deploy personnel on-site only after confirming safety, doing our best to ensure the safety of citizens and on-site police officers."

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