Busan Mandeok-dong Care Facility 1,400+ Negative for COVID-19... Authorities "Expand Testing Area"

103 Contacts of Haetteurak Hospital Staff Test Negative
2 Deaths... Difficult to Prove Existing Deaths' Link to COVID-19

Haetteurak Nursing Hospital located in Mandeok-dong, Buk-gu, Busan

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] Regarding the cluster infection of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) that occurred at a nursing hospital in Busan, diagnostic tests were conducted on 1,431 workers and users of nearby nursing hospitals, but no additional confirmed cases have been reported so far. Authorities are considering expanding the target area for testing.

According to the Central Disease Control Headquarters on the 15th, a total of 53 confirmed cases have been reported up to the previous day in connection with Haetteurak Nursing Hospital located in Mandeok-dong, Buk-gu, Busan. After a large-scale cluster infection occurred, the quarantine authorities imposed cohort isolation on this hospital and conducted diagnostic tests on all workers and users at nine nursing hospitals in the same neighborhood. Additionally, no further confirmed cases were found among 103 contacts of the hospital staff who were also tested.

Earlier, a nursing assistant at this hospital was first confirmed positive on the 13th, and subsequent testing of staff and users revealed 52 additional confirmed cases, bringing the total to 53. This is the largest cluster outbreak so far in Busan. Since late last month, as patients have been continuously reported in local restaurants, bathhouses, and other places, quarantine measures were strengthened. Nursing hospitals and facilities, which have many elderly patients with underlying conditions, are more vulnerable to infectious diseases, so proactive diagnostic testing was conducted.

Initially, testing was focused on nursing hospitals and facilities in the same neighborhood, and plans to expand to nearby areas are under consideration. This is because confirmed cases have also been reported in other areas, and facility workers have a wide range of daily activities due to commuting. Lee Sang-won, Crisis Response Analyst at the Central Disease Control Headquarters, said at a briefing that "(Although) no positive cases were found in additional testing, we intend to strengthen measures in preparation for the possibility of community patient occurrence."

On the 15th, citizens are waiting to undergo specimen testing at the COVID-19 screening clinic set up at the National Medical Center in Jung-gu, Seoul. The Central Disease Control Headquarters announced that as of midnight on the same day, 110 new domestic COVID-19 cases were confirmed, bringing the total to 24,988. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

About ten days after the Chuseok holiday ended, a total of 16 cluster outbreak cases involving 328 people have been recorded domestically as of this day. Among them, 8 cases involving 130 people are related to family and acquaintances gatherings, and 3 cases involving 34 people are related to multi-use facilities. There are 2 cases involving medical institutions with 114 people, 2 cases related to military units with 43 people, and 1 case classified as other with 7 people.

The analyst said, "We will strengthen quarantine measures such as expanding proactive testing for high-risk facilities and groups, but there are limitations in confirming and preventing the expansion of sporadic community cases into cluster outbreaks through testing. Since testing only confirms infection status at the time of testing, the best preventive measure is to consistently follow quarantine guidelines to block the possibility of infection."

Meanwhile, in relation to Haetteurak Nursing Hospital, one person died on this day, increasing the cumulative death toll related to this cluster to two. It is reported that several others who showed similar symptoms died before the cluster infection was identified, but currently, there are no specimens available to prove a connection to COVID-19, making it difficult to confirm. The analyst said, "(Regarding death due to COVID-19) there is currently no way to confirm, and we plan to further estimate the cause of death through medical records and likelihood."

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