[Breaking] Taxi driver says "No cash passengers to my memory"... Authorities say "Cannot be certain"

Busan Patient No. 339 Taxi Route

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ga-yeon] Health authorities are facing difficulties in epidemiological investigations as some passengers of taxis driven by three taxi drivers in Busan who tested positive for COVID-19 have not been identified.

All those identified through card payments for taxi fares tested negative, but it remains difficult to identify passengers who paid in cash.

According to Busan city health authorities on the 12th, out of 84 passengers of the three taxi drivers who tested positive (Busan cases 320, 336, and 339), 44 have undergone COVID-19 testing, all of which returned negative results. The remaining 40 are either being contacted by the city or are scheduled for testing.

Although taxi drivers 320 and 336 reportedly stated that "to the best of their memory, there were no cash-paying passengers," it cannot be definitively concluded that there were none. Case 339, a corporate taxi driver, is relatively easier to trace contacts for, but health authorities are struggling with the epidemiological investigation as there is no way to identify passengers who paid in cash.

The city has urgently disclosed the taxi routes on its website and is seeking passengers who came into contact with case 339.

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