16 New COVID-19 Cases in Gyeongnam Morning, 11 in Afternoon ... Total 442 Cases

As the government raised the social distancing level to 1.5 after the daily new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the Seoul metropolitan area exceeded 100 for five consecutive days, citizens visiting the National Medical Center in Jung-gu, Seoul, on the 18th are waiting to get tested. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Ju-cheol In] In Gyeongnam, following 16 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) in the morning, 11 additional cases were reported in the afternoon.

As of 5 p.m. on the 19th, Gyeongsangnam-do announced that 11 new confirmed cases occurred since 10 a.m. that day: 5 in Changwon, 5 in Hadong, and 1 in Jinju.

Two men and women in their 40s, contacts of patient number 400 (male in his 50s) confirmed on the 17th, tested positive and were classified as Gyeongnam cases 435 and 436. They are secondary infection cases of patient 394 (male in his 50s) residing in Gimhae.

Cases 435 and 436 work at Hansushi in Sangnam-dong, Changwon. They had contact with patient 400, who was confirmed positive on the 13th and is related to a Changwon petroleum distribution company.

Case 435 was confirmed to have worked until the 17th. Residents who visited Hansushi on the 12th, 13th, 16th, and 17th are strongly urged to report to the health center.

A woman in her 80s from Changwon, a family contact of patient 327 (female in her 60s) confirmed on the 5th, tested positive during a test for release from self-quarantine and was classified as case 437. Accordingly, the number of secondary infection cases related to the Changwon family cluster has increased to 32.

A woman in her 40s who had contact with patient 420 (female in her 40s), confirmed the previous night, tested positive and was classified as case 438. Case 438, included in the Jinhae-gu cluster, is a family member of case 430, a middle school student.

A woman in her 30s with an unknown infection route was also confirmed positive in Jinhae-gu and classified as case 440.

The provincial quarantine authorities estimate that the cluster infections in Changwon Jinhae-gu on the 5th and 13th spread through Hansushi in Changwon, where patients 393, 400, and 412 gathered, and the owner and proprietor, cases 436 and 435, were also confirmed positive.

One additional secondary infection related to an elderly couple in Sacheon occurred in Jinju.

A woman in her 40s who had contact with patient 355 (female in her 70s), the first confirmed case related to the Sacheon elderly couple on the 8th, tested positive in Jinju and was classified as case 438. Case 438 works at the pharmacy visited by patient 355.

Accordingly, the number of confirmed cases related to the Sacheon elderly couple has increased to 24, including one in Seoul.

Five additional cases occurred in Hadong-gun, where a cluster infection has taken place.

A man in his 40s and a teenage girl, family members of patient 414, a middle school student in Hadong confirmed the previous day, tested positive and were classified as cases 441 and 442, respectively.

Three people, two men in their 20s and one man in his 30s, family members who were at the same PC room as the Hadong middle school confirmed cases, tested positive and were classified as cases 443 to 445.

The number of cases related to the Hadong-gun middle school has increased to 26. Excluding two women in their 50s confirmed in Jinju (cases 424 and 425), the number of confirmed cases in Hadong has increased to 24 within two days since the 17th.

Accordingly, the cumulative number of confirmed cases in the province has increased to 442. Of these, 334 have been discharged, and 108 are currently hospitalized.

Kim Myung-seop, spokesperson for Gyeongnam Province, emphasized, "Infections are spreading mainly among close contacts through gatherings involving meals. Please reduce dining gatherings as much as possible and strictly adhere to daily quarantine rules such as always wearing masks wherever you are."

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