Concerns Over COVID-19 Cluster Infection Spread in Hampyeong County, 5,000 Residents Undergo Diagnostic Testing

On the 27th, Sang-ik Lee, the mayor of Hampyeong County, announced an emergency statement regarding the spread of COVID-19 in the county at the Hampyeong County Office small conference room. Photo by Hampyeong County

[Hampyeong=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Chunsu] The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases linked to visitors of a local clinic in Hampyeong-gun, Jeollanam-do, has increased to 13.

On the 27th, according to Hampyeong-gun, secondary infections are spreading among people around the confirmed cases who visited the clinic, prompting the authorities to conduct diagnostic tests on all 5,000 residents of Hampyeong-eup and implement quarantine measures.

County Governor Lee Sang-ik stated in a press release that, "Considering the current spread, and keeping in mind the possibility of variant virus emergence, we will strengthen quarantine rules in accordance with social distancing level 2 until the 13th of next month."

Accordingly, Hampyeong-gun will enforce stricter measures including ▲ banning private gatherings of five or more people ▲ limiting participation in religious activities to 20% of seating capacity ▲ closing public sports facilities and some public multi-use facilities.

Yesterday, Hampyeong-gun reported seven new confirmed cases, the highest number of daily local infections among Jeollanam-do municipalities.

The governor added, "There is nothing more important than protecting the lives of our residents and the safety of our community. I earnestly ask everyone to actively participate by strictly following personal quarantine rules, as that is the only way to protect us all."

The county health center's screening clinic will conduct COVID-19 tests until midnight until the situation stabilizes. Additionally, the drive-through temporary screening clinic at the Expo Park Hwangso Parking Lot operates from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., allowing those with suspicious symptoms to get tested immediately at the nearest screening clinic.

Since the first confirmed case on the 23rd, secondary infections have continued within the community, raising the cumulative number of confirmed cases to 13. Most of the additional infected individuals either visited the local clinic in Hampyeong-eup or had contact with visitors to the clinic.

Quarantine authorities have closed and disinfected part of the building housing the clinic and tested 1,700 contacts, but the initial source of infection has not been identified. Due to the high population density characteristic of the area, concerns about further infections are increasing.

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