9 Additional Confirmed Cases in Correctional Facilities... Hongseong Prison Increases to 45 Cases

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] Nine additional COVID-19 cases have been confirmed among inmates and staff at correctional facilities nationwide.

On the 16th, the Ministry of Justice announced that as of 9 a.m., five inmates at Hwaseong Vocational Training Prison, one staff member at Daegu Prison, and three inmates at Hongseong Prison tested positive for COVID-19. Earlier, the Ministry of Justice began mass testing after a cluster infection of 30 people occurred at Hongseong Prison in Chungnam.

Accordingly, the total number of confirmed cases at Hongseong Prison has increased to 45, including three staff members and 42 inmates.

At Hwaseong Vocational Training Prison, where additional confirmed cases were reported this time, one newly admitted inmate was confirmed positive on the 14th. The five inmates confirmed positive on this day were newly admitted inmates who shared the same dormitory.

Currently, the Ministry of Justice is housing all confirmed cases and contact inmates separately in a different housing unit or in single rooms to prevent transmission among inmates exposed to confirmed cases and to curb the spread of cluster infections within the facilities. A Ministry of Justice official stated, "We are strengthening periodic polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing for contacts and enhancing quarantine measures across the entire facility, including restricting inmate movement and suspending operations at correctional facilities where confirmed cases have occurred."

Meanwhile, the results of the first round of mass testing are expected on the 17th, and a second round of additional mass testing for correctional facility workers nationwide will be conducted from the 20th to the 24th.

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