KCDC: "Confirmed Case in Severance Hospital Nutrition Team Served Meals Before Symptoms Appeared" (Update)

On the morning of the 11th, medical staff were working at the Safe Clinic at Severance Hospital in Sinchon, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul. On this day, a total of four additional confirmed cases of COVID-19 were reported at Severance Hospital Rehabilitation Hospital. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] It has been confirmed that the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases within Severance Hospital in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, where a cluster infection occurred, has increased by 4 more patients.

On the 11th, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that a total of 4 people, including 1 guardian in the hospital's rehabilitation facility and 3 janitors, tested positive for COVID-19.

Previously, on the 9th, a cluster infection occurred at Severance Hospital when 1 nutrition team meal server and 1 nursing assistant working at the rehabilitation hospital tested positive.

On the 10th, an additional 10 confirmed cases occurred in the nutrition team and 9 in the rehabilitation hospital.

According to the epidemiological investigation by Seoul City, the confirmed meal server in the nutrition team was found to have performed meal distribution duties in the rehabilitation hospital ward.

However, it was confirmed that this confirmed patient distributed meals before showing any COVID-19 related symptoms, so it is still unclear whether this patient transmitted the infection within the rehabilitation ward.

On the afternoon of the 11th, at a regular briefing held in Osong, Chungbuk, Kwak Jin, head of the Patient Management Team at the Central Disease Control Headquarters, explained, "It has been confirmed that the confirmed patient who went to distribute meals to the rehabilitation hospital did so before the onset of symptoms," adding, "The meal distribution roles do not seem to be clearly separated by personnel. We are continuing to verify who went to which ward on which date to distribute meals."

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