"Suspected of COVID-19"... Daycare Isolates 19-Month-Old Child on Veranda at Minus 0.7°C

Director "Isolated with a mild fever of 37.2 degrees"

Photo by JTBC News Capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] A controversy has arisen after a 19-month-old child was isolated on a veranda at a home daycare center in Suncheon, Jeollanam-do, on suspicion of having COVID-19.

According to a JTBC report on the 14th, a 19-month-old girl, A, was isolated on a veranda without heating at the daycare center on the 27th of last month. At that time, the lowest temperature in Suncheon was minus 0.7 degrees Celsius. After A's parents checked the closed-circuit television (CCTV), they found two instances lasting 55 minutes and about 20 minutes.

The released CCTV footage shows the child standing alone on the veranda, sometimes tapping on the glass window. The child also ate meals on the veranda.

A's mother expressed in an interview, "Watching the CCTV footage, I was speechless and now I understand what it means to have a broken heart."

She added, "Since that incident, (A) insists on being with her mother at all times," and "She suddenly screams, sobs, and keeps crying."

Meanwhile, this fact came to light when the mother, noticing something unusual in photos of A alone, asked the director about it.

The director explained that due to the rapidly increasing number of COVID-19 cases, A was isolated because she had a mild fever of 37.2 degrees Celsius.

However, A's parents stated, "The child had been receiving home care and was tested for COVID-19 before attending the daycare center, and the test result was negative," adding, "On that day, she was diagnosed with a simple cold at the hospital and went to the daycare center following the director's instruction to attend."

They also claimed, "At first, the director said there was no isolation measure." But after checking the CCTV, they were outraged to find that the director fed A while she was alone on the veranda.

A's parents have filed a complaint against the director, and the police are currently investigating whether abuse occurred.

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