First COVID-19 Death Reported in Gyeongnam

Minister of Health and Welfare Park Neung-hoo is moving after concluding the regular COVID-19 response briefing at the briefing room of the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 17th. The government decided to raise the social distancing level to 1.5 in the metropolitan area and Gangwon region starting from midnight on the 19th. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Ju-cheol In] A man in his 50s who was receiving treatment after contracting the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Gyeongnam has died.

Gyeongsangnam-do announced on the 22nd that a man in his 50s who was hospitalized at Masan Medical Center, a dedicated infectious disease treatment hospital, has passed away.

This is the first death reported in Gyeongnam since the first confirmed case on February 20.

The man was diagnosed as asymptomatic positive on the 7th. It was confirmed that he had no underlying health conditions.

After hospitalization, he showed symptoms of pneumonia, but after completing treatment and while discussing discharge, he complained of chest pain around 8:25 PM the previous day and died.

The quarantine authorities stated that the cause of death was acute myocardial infarction and that there was little correlation with COVID-19-related pneumonia. However, they judged that the COVID-19 infection likely influenced the acute myocardial infarction.

Kim Myung-seop, spokesperson for Gyeongsangnam-do, said, “According to the 'Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Act,' the funeral procedures will proceed with cremation first upon the consent of the bereaved family, followed by the funeral.” He added, “We will actively support the bereaved family in all future funeral-related procedures.”

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