Additional COVID-19 Cases Reported at Hongseong Prison... Concerns Over Spread of Cluster Infections in Correctional Facilities

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] At Hongseong Correctional Institution in Chungnam, where a COVID-19 cluster infection occurred, 12 additional confirmed cases have been reported. This comes two days after 30 confirmed cases were reported on the 13th. The Correctional Headquarters and quarantine authorities are concerned about the possibility of a recurrence of the cluster infection incident at Dongbu Detention Center last year. The Ministry of Justice has begun mass testing of all staff and inmates nationwide, and cohort isolation measures may be implemented depending on the situation.

According to the Ministry of Justice on the 15th, as of 10 a.m. that day, 12 additional COVID-19 confirmed cases were reported at Hongseong Correctional Institution. So far, a total of 42 confirmed cases have been identified within Hongseong Correctional Institution, including 3 staff members and 39 inmates.

In the case of Hongseong Correctional Institution, where this cluster infection began, a total of 30 confirmed cases were reported on the 13th, including 27 inmates and 3 correctional officers. During the process of quarantining new inmates for two weeks and testing them on the 13th day, on the 10th, the first positive case was confirmed in an inmate in his 40s.

The atmosphere at Dongbu Detention Center, where a cluster infection involving about 1,200 people occurred a year ago, is also tense. Although no additional confirmed cases were reported on this day, the Ministry of Justice plans to conduct additional testing on female staff and inmates on the 16th, considering that confirmed cases have continued to occur since the 6th. At Dongbu Detention Center, during the PCR tests conducted on about 490 staff and 1,990 inmates on the 13th, one female inmate tested positive. The total number of confirmed cases related to Dongbu Detention Center is currently six.

Internally, the Ministry of Justice has launched mass testing targeting about 17,000 correctional facility staff and about 53,000 inmates nationwide by the 17th to quickly curb the spread of COVID-19. Depending on the test results, cohort isolation measures may be implemented for close contacts. There are also plans to accelerate the third dose vaccination for staff and inmates.

Due to the cluster infection within correctional facilities restricting inmate movement, there are expected to be variables in court trial schedules. Considering that the winter recess begins for two weeks starting the last week of December, trial schedules have recently become congested. In fact, most trial schedules at nearby courts such as Daejeon District Court have reportedly been postponed due to the cluster infection at Hongseong Correctional Institution.

However, controversies over the lax quarantine measures pointed out during last year’s Dongbu Detention Center incident have somewhat subsided. This is partly due to the government's With-Corona policy and the establishment and operation of quarantine system manuals centered on the COVID-19 Correctional Facility Emergency Response Team over the past year. A Correctional Headquarters official stated, "Recently, we have focused on blocking infections by applying vaccine pass systems to all visitors," adding, "We will continue to respond to early spread prevention through quarantine systems according to the situation."

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