Super spreading event occurred in South Korea: 37 people were diagnosed after close contact with 1,000 people!

South Korea's epidemic prevention department disinfects the door of the church where the "super infection" incident occurred. South Korea has a super spread

"We believe that the new coronavirus has shown 'early community transmission' in South Korea." South Korea's central epidemic prevention department said on February 20 that a "super spreading event" occurred in a church in Daegu where the 31st confirmed patient had visited. It is known that at least 1,001 people had close contact with the patient, and 90 of them showed symptoms. Currently, the epidemic prevention department is formulating plans to conduct screening and diagnostic tests on the entire church.

According to Yonhap News Agency, Kim Gang-lip, deputy director of the Korea Central Emergency Response Headquarters, said at a press conference on the morning of the 20th that the new coronavirus epidemic has now exceeded the epidemic prevention network and has begun to spread throughout the community. As of the afternoon of the 20th, South Korea had a total of 53 new cases of novel coronavirus infection and its first death. Of these, 30 cases were from North Gyeongsang Province and Daegu City, and 1 was from Seoul. This is the largest single-day report in South Korea since the outbreak of the new coronavirus in January this year. Currently, the total number of confirmed cases in South Korea has suddenly increased to 104.

Super-spreading event occurred in South Korea: 37 people were diagnosed with close contact with 1,000 people

South Korean media reports on the spread of the 31st "super spreader" case

Of the 53 new cases reported that day, 23 of the 30 cases in Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province were related to the church frequented by the 31st case, while another two were diagnosed at a medical institution in Cheongdo County, North Gyeongsang Province. The situation of the remaining five cases is being investigated. Currently, there are at least 37 confirmed cases related to case 31. The epidemic prevention department is still investigating whether the case is related to the first death case in South Korea.

According to South Korea’s epidemic prevention department, the “31st case” that triggered community transmission and detonated a chain reaction of the epidemic was a 61-year-old woman in Daegu. She has not traveled abroad in the past three months and has no history of "clear contact" with high-risk people in the epidemic area. The patient herself sought medical treatment in Seoul due to a car accident at the end of January. She developed fever symptoms on February 10 and began to have pneumonia on February 14. A staff member of the hospital where she was treated has also been confirmed to be infected. Until being diagnosed on February 17, the infected person had been moving around and went to church for gatherings four times, which eventually triggered a large-scale community infection incident.

South Korea's epidemic prevention department said that it has obtained a list of 1,001 believers who attended worship services with the 31st patient on the 9th and 16th of this month from the church. These people are being quarantined at home and confirmed by phone whether they have any symptoms.

According to information released by the Daegu Municipal Government, as of the morning of the 20th, 90 of the 1,001 believers had reported symptoms, and 396 had yet to be contacted.

Gang Gang-lip said that based on the results of the epidemiological investigation, the Korea Central Emergency Response Headquarters and the Central Epidemic Prevention Headquarters have determined that the epidemic of new coronavirus infection is very serious. Recently, the number of confirmed cases with unknown infection routes has increased dramatically in Seoul, Daegu and other regions, and the epidemic has entered the stage of community transmission.

Kim Gang-lip said that under this circumstance, the government is upgrading the epidemic prevention response system and continuing to increase quarantine efforts to strictly prevent the virus from entering from abroad. It also plans to set up 8 new virus screening clinics in Daegu, where confirmed cases are concentrated, and arrange 24 more public health physicians.

South Korea's epidemic prevention department announced on the 20th that there are currently 29 medical institutions in South Korea operating national designated isolation wards, including 161 negative pressure wards and 198 beds.