Seoul Asan Medical Center "Over 500 Medical Staff and Contacts Test Negative for COVID-19"

by Choi Daeyul

Published 01 Apr.2020 11:34(KST)

Updated 22 Jan.2025 23:51(KST)

A 9-year-old girl hospitalized in the pediatric ward of Seoul Asan Medical Center Children's Hospital tested positive for COVID-19, and on the 1st, access to the pediatric ward and pediatric emergency center of Seoul Asan Medical Center is being restricted. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] Seoul Asan Medical Center announced on the 1st that all of the approximately 500 contacts, including medical staff who had contact with a confirmed COVID-19 patient and patients admitted to the same ward, tested negative after diagnostic testing.

At this hospital, a 9-year-old child who was hospitalized in the pediatric hospital was confirmed positive the previous afternoon. This patient had no fever, respiratory symptoms, or signs of pneumonia, but tested positive through proactive COVID-19 testing conducted on inpatients following multiple cases at Uijeongbu St. Mary's Hospital. After confirming the positive result, Asan Medical Center reported it to the Songpa District Public Health Center and is currently conducting an epidemiological investigation together with Seoul city authorities.

According to the hospital, 52 medical staff who had direct contact with the patient were tested, along with 43 patients in the same ward and all their guardians. Additionally, about 500 people, including employees who had no direct contact but moved along similar routes, were tested. The hospital stated, "The 52 staff who had contact tested negative but have been placed under work restrictions for two weeks."

The ward currently closed, along with the pediatric emergency room, emergency MR room, and angiography room, have undergone disinfection and quarantine measures. After further review, they plan to reopen these facilities as soon as possible. Having completed COVID-19 testing for high-risk patients, guardians, and medical staff, the hospital decided to expand the scope of testing. A hospital official said, "The confirmed patient has been moved to a high-level isolation negative pressure room and is receiving treatment in a relatively stable condition. Other pediatric patients in the ward have also been transferred to negative pressure wards and isolation rooms prepared for confirmed cases and are receiving treatment."