'1,000 People Waiting for Testing' Daejeon Raw Fish Restaurant Cluster Confirmed, Has It Spread to a Sensual Pub?... Authorities on High Alert

There are indications that the COVID-19 outbreak originating from a sashimi restaurant in Seo-gu, Daejeon, has also spread to customers of nearby emotional pubs, putting quarantine authorities on high alert. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

[Asia Economy Reporter Hana Na] The COVID-19 outbreak originating from a sashimi restaurant in Seo-gu, Daejeon, appears to have spread to customers of a nearby emotional pub, putting health authorities on high alert.

According to Daejeon City on the 28th, a customer in their 20s at the sashimi restaurant who tested positive on the 26th (Daejeon case number 1252) is an employee at an emotional pub in Dunsan-dong, Seo-gu. His coworker and a customer at the pub also tested positive for COVID-19 on the 27th.

Health authorities have issued a two-week closure order for the emotional pub where case 1252 and others worked, effective from today until the 9th of next month.

According to the electronic entry log of the establishment, there were 1,095 visitors from the 19th through the 27th.

Health authorities have advised all these visitors to undergo COVID-19 testing.

However, since some visitors may not have been recorded in the electronic entry log, a text message advising testing for visitors during the same period was sent to all citizens.

Jung Haekyo, Director of the Health and Welfare Bureau of Daejeon City, stated, "Given the nature of the establishment where many people gather, drink, talk, and even dance, there is a significant concern about the spread of the COVID-19 virus through respiratory droplets."

Case 1252 received a COVID-19 testing notification text at around 1:43 PM on the 25th but still visited the establishment that night and only got tested the following morning. It was confirmed that he did not disclose information related to the establishment during the initial epidemiological investigation after testing positive.

Director Jung expressed regret, saying, "If case 1252 had gotten tested immediately after receiving the notification and had disclosed information about the establishment during the initial investigation, the closure order and testing of customers could have been advanced by a day, and the external activities of potentially infected customers could have been prevented."

Health authorities plan to file charges against him for violating the Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Act.

Additionally, environmental samples will be collected and analyzed inside the establishment.

Previously, 16 people in their 20s related to the sashimi restaurant tested positive, including 11 customers. The area where the sashimi restaurant is located is densely populated with pubs and restaurants primarily catering to people in their 20s.

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