Gyeongnam Hamyang 'Taxi Driver-Originated' Nth Infection Becomes Reality

6 Cases Added 4 Days After Confirmed Case on 11th
Taxi Driver⇒Restaurant Owner⇒Restaurant Employee⇒Delivery Driver
2 More Confirmed Cases on 14th... Concerns Over Community n-th Infection Spread

Jirisan Hamyang Market in Hamyang, Gyeongnam. The five-day market was closed due to the local spread of COVID-19.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo, Hamyang=Reporter Choi Soon-kyung] Six confirmed cases of COVID-19 have occurred among taxi drivers in Hamyang, Gyeongnam, within four days, raising concerns about n-th generation infections in the Hamyang area becoming a reality.

Seo Chun-soo, the mayor of Hamyang County, held a press conference at 3 p.m. on the 14th in the multipurpose meeting room on the 3rd floor of the county office and announced that since the first confirmed case in the region (Hamyang case number 2) on the 11th, two more cases (Hamyang case numbers 6 and 7) were confirmed at 12:30 a.m. on the same day, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to six.

Hamyang case number 6 (Gyeongnam case number 271) is a woman in her 40s who initially received an inconclusive result in the first test, underwent a retest on the 12th, and was confirmed positive in the early morning of the 14th, after which she was transferred to Masan Medical Center.

Hamyang case number 6 first showed symptoms on the 7th. After the 5th, she visited restaurants, acquaintances' shops, and homes within Hamyang County. She also used taxis for transportation. So far, 10 contacts have been identified, including her two children and restaurant contacts, with additional contacts under investigation.

Hamyang case number 7 (Gyeongnam case number 272) is a man in his 30s working at a courier company in Sudong-myeon. He had dinner together with Hamyang case numbers 4 and 6 on the evening of the 9th. Contacts were identified on the 7th, 9th, and 11th at restaurants and acquaintances' homes.

He was tested on the 12th and confirmed positive in the early morning of the 14th. He is currently asymptomatic.

Hamyang case number 7's contacts include six coworkers at the same workplace and four work-related contacts, totaling 10 people. Additional contacts are under investigation.

Mayor Seo said, "It is true that our response was insufficient regarding the occurrence of confirmed cases and the criteria for disclosing movement paths. We want to disclose confirmed cases and movement paths as quickly as possible, but delays occurred because we must follow guidelines for information disclosure, epidemiological investigators, and the quarantine authorities (Gyeongnam Province) investigations and instructions."

He added, "The disclosure of confirmed cases' movement paths is not about revealing all schedules but is for quarantine purposes. We selectively disclose information that the public needs to know, considering privacy protection."

Regarding the additional two confirmed COVID-19 cases among taxi drivers in Hamyang County, Gyeongnam Province announced this at a spokesperson briefing at 10:30 a.m. on the same day, which was 5 hours and 30 minutes earlier than Hamyang County's announcement, leading to criticism that Hamyang County's response as the local disaster control tower has not been smooth.

Hamyang County has been implementing enhanced social distancing level 2 since the 12th. A ban on gatherings has been imposed on 12 high-risk facility types, and religious facilities have switched to non-face-to-face services. The traditional five-day market has been closed, and 408 locations such as senior centers have been shut down.

Currently, for 221 people under self-quarantine, a dedicated app has been installed, and 190 dedicated public officials have been assigned to strengthen inspections and monitoring. The case management team (Tracing 4) at the Hamyang County Public Health Center's screening clinic has been expanded to 10 teams. The specimen collection sites have also increased from one to five.

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