'Cheonan Seonggeo Group Infection', Link to Door-to-Door Sales Facility Confirmed

Diagram of the infection route of the group outbreak in Seonggeo-eup, Cheonan, linked to a door-to-door sales business. Provided by Chungnam Province

[Asia Economy (Naepo) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] It has been confirmed that the cluster infection of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) that occurred in Seonggeo-eup, Cheonan, Chungnam, originated from a door-to-door sales business.

According to the province on the 4th, as of midnight that day, out of 374 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the Chungnam area, 203 cases were in Cheonan, and 172 of them were confirmed positive after Liberation Day on the 15th of last month.

Among the confirmed cases since the 15th of last month, 88 reside in Cheonan, and the province has identified that 16 of them either visited door-to-door sales business sites or were contacts of visitors.

In particular, the epidemiological investigation of the 16 individuals related to the door-to-door sales business revealed that two operators of a door-to-door sales business located in Dongnam-gu, Cheonan, were confirmed positive on the 26th and 31st of last month, respectively. The province believes that those related to the door-to-door sales business who stayed for more than an hour in the enclosed business site and had contact with the operators were likely infected in a chain.

Five confirmed cases were infected through the two door-to-door sales business operators, and additional cases infected through them have occurred. In fact, two residents related to the door-to-door sales business living in B Village, Seonggeo-eup, transmitted the virus secondarily to two family members and neighbors, and one resident of C Village, Seonggeo-eup, caused secondary infections to five people at the village hall, as revealed by the epidemiological investigation.

Additionally, besides the three residents from B and C Villages, two others who are health food and medical device salespersons stayed for more than an hour at the A business site on the 14th of last month to introduce products and were later confirmed positive. It was confirmed that they subsequently transmitted the virus to another person at their office.

A provincial official emphasized, “Most door-to-door sales business sites are enclosed spaces where many people gather and have prolonged contact, making it easy for the virus to spread,” and added, “Since most confirmed cases related to door-to-door sales are elderly, it is important to keep in mind that they can become new sources of infection.”

Meanwhile, considering the ongoing cases of infections mediated by door-to-door sales businesses in the metropolitan area, the province is implementing ‘gathering ban measures for door-to-door sales businesses’ and continues inspections of 712 facilities within the province.

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