All 644 Workers at Gangnam-gu Disability Welfare Facilities Test Negative

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] The government has decided to extend the current 2.5-level social distancing measures in the Seoul metropolitan area until January 3 of next year, instead of raising it to level 3.

Since mid-last month, the third wave of the pandemic has intensified, with daily new confirmed cases fluctuating around 1,000.

In particular, as of midnight on the 29th, 523 new cases were confirmed in Seoul alone. Cluster infections continue to occur in places such as Seoul Eastern Detention Center, nursing homes, and welfare facilities.

According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, the average daily number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Korea last week (December 20?26) was 1,017, an increase of 68 from the previous week (December 13?19, 949 cases). Compared to the second week of December (December 6?12, 661.7 cases), the number increased by 356 over two weeks.

Also, among the 14,000 new confirmed cases from December 15 to 28, 4,000 cases (28%) had unknown infection routes. This means nearly 3 out of 10 people do not know how they were infected.

However, the positive news is that the infection reproduction number in the metropolitan area dropped from 1.27 last week to 1.07. The health authorities noted this as a “positive sign,” pointing out that the number of confirmed cases waiting at home for more than a day in the metropolitan area once exceeded 500 but has since dropped to 96.

The situation outside the country is even darker. In the United States, the number of confirmed cases increased by 1 million over six days recently. According to Johns Hopkins University data, the total confirmed cases rose from 18 million on the 21st to over 19 million on the 27th, and 60,000 people died this month alone, marking the highest death toll ever recorded.

Meanwhile, the COVID-19 variant virus first discovered in the United Kingdom is spreading to Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.

In Korea, three family members who returned on the 22nd were confirmed to be infected with the variant virus, raising concerns. However, according to health authorities, they tested positive during quarantine upon entry and are isolated, so the possibility of further community transmission is low.

There have been no reports that the variant virus has a higher fatality rate, and experts analyze that it does not neutralize vaccines or treatments.

Meanwhile, the Blue House announced that it has secured an additional 20 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine from the global pharmaceutical company Moderna. This is double the originally planned supply. President Moon Jae-in reached this agreement and advanced the supply schedule through a direct video call with Moderna’s CEO the previous night.

The vaccines the government has currently contracted include 10 million doses each from Pfizer and AstraZeneca, 6 million doses from Janssen, and 10 million doses through the COVAX Facility. Once the provisional contract with Moderna is finalized, the total will increase to 56 million doses.

Additionally, the government plans to prioritize COVID-19 vaccinations for healthcare workers and elderly residents in nursing hospitals and facilities starting February and March next year.

Furthermore, domestically produced COVID-19 treatments are expected to receive conditional approval soon and be used.

They may become available as early as January or February next year, raising hopes as the distribution of vaccines and treatments to end COVID-19 accelerates.

Gangnam-gu Confirmed Cases Status

From the afternoon of the previous day to today, confirmed cases numbered 912 to 928 have been reported in Gangnam-gu.

Cases 912, 913, and 919 are family members of previously confirmed Gangnam-gu residents; cases 917 and 922 to 925 tested positive after contact with confirmed cases from other regions; cases 914 to 916, 920, 921, 927, and 928 were confirmed after showing symptoms such as coughing; cases 918 and 926 were confirmed without any symptoms but with unknown infection routes, and epidemiological investigations are ongoing.

Self-Quarantine Status

As of today, Gangnam-gu is managing 1,407 people in self-quarantine, of whom 904 are overseas entrants and 503 are domestic contacts.

Number of Specimen Tests

The cumulative number of specimen tests conducted at the Gangnam-gu Public Health Center screening clinics is 138,372. Among the 2,676 tests conducted the previous day, 67 were overseas entrants and 2,609 were domestic residents.

On the 29th, the government decided to extend the operation of temporary screening clinics, which were scheduled to end on January 3, for an additional two weeks. Gangnam-gu plans to follow this government policy by extending the operation of temporary screening clinics near Samsung Station Exit 6 (Yeongdong-daero 513) and Gaepo Digital Innovation Park (Gaepo-ro 416).

Additionally, new testing sites will be added at Bangjukso Park in Segok-dong (Yulhyeon-dong 254-3) and Apgujeong 428 Public Parking Lot (Apgujeong-ro 161), which will begin operation from January 4.

To prevent the spread of community infections, testing is being conducted continuously during holidays and weekends. So far, 12,773 tests have been conducted, identifying 44 confirmed cases.

Furthermore, Gangnam-gu is conducting mass testing of approximately 4,000 workers at 320 welfare facilities until January 29, following the infectious disease response principle of “early detection, early containment.”

In particular, the mass testing of workers at facilities for the disabled, which began on the 21st, resulted in all 644 workers at 54 facilities testing negative.

Going forward, Gangnam-gu plans to conduct weekly specimen tests for both workers and disabled facility users.

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