Thursday, July 16, 2020

South Korean immigration confirms surge in imported covid cases

Reporter : Feizhen
Editor : Yun Tian
Publisher : Sound Of Hope
Translation, editing : Gan Yung Chyan
                                 / KUCINTA SETIA

Image credit : Associated Press

According to the report of the Central Ministry of Epidemic Prevention of Korea, today (16 July 2020), 61 new covid cases are diagnosed, setting the highest record in Korea in 113 days. Among them, 20 South Korean citizens were from a South Korean company that had a mass cluster infection in Iraq, and were diagnosed during entry quarantine.

Yin Taihao, Head of the epidemic prevention headquarters of the Central Emergency Response Department of South Korea, said at a press conference today that up to 47 of the newly confirmed cases are import cases, including 20 South Korean citizens from Iraq.

Yin Taihao said there is a mass infection in the construction site in Iraq in the Middle East. Hee speculated that the Korean employees who returned to Seoul this time may be affected by this impact. These employees work on the construction site of Karbala, 120 kilometers south of Baghdad, Iraq.

Yin Taihao said that this is a consortium of 4 Korean construction companies including Hyundai Construction, Hyundai Engineering, GS Construction, and SK Construction. 683 employees work here, and more than 100 of these employees returned to South Korea by charter the day before.  The company reported on the 9th that foreign employees immediately closed the construction site after the diagnosis, and implemented home isolation for all employees.

Yin Taihao said that in the future, the staff at the construction site in Iraq may enter South Korea one after another, and the number of confirmed cases may increase further. At present, various government departments are negotiating on relevant epidemic prevention measures. Entry-infected people will be placed in life treatment centers for treatment, and elderly people or those with basic diseases will be admitted to specialized hospitals for infectious diseases.

As for the recent epidemic situation in the Seoul metropolitan area gradually slowing down, Yin Taihao believes that it is mainly a large-scale collective infection source that has subsided. In the process, the epidemic prevention department has also conducted a large number of tests and found confirmed cases in advance, so it has played an active role in epidemic prevention. However, Yin Taihao still reminded that sporadic collective infections still occur in many areas. The unexplained way of infection continues to occur, which may lead to collective infections, so the situation cannot be taken lightly.

A total of 13,612 cases have been diagnosed in South Korea so far, of which 291 patients have died, 12,396 cases have been cured and disccharged, and 925 cases are still being treated in isolation.


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StayGate Picture(s) : Suvarnabhumi Airport from Miracle Suvarnabhumi Airport Hotel

 Picture(s) copyright by : Gan Yung Chyan, KUCINTA SETIA