Vice health minister in self-quarantine after contacting virus patient
Vice Health Minister Kim Gang-lip. Yonhap
South Korea's vice health minister has gone into self-quarantine after having contact with a virus patient, the country's health authorities said Wednesday.
Vice Health Minister Kim Gang-lip held a meeting with the head of a general hospital south of Seoul and other health-related officials on Friday.
So far, a total of 29 virus patients, including two doctors, have been traced to the general hospital, Bundang Jesaeng Hospital, since its first virus outbreak on March 5.
The hospital chief was diagnosed with COVID-19 infection earlier in the day.
"Clinical reviews are ongoing to determine the degree of contact made by the vice minister and others at the gathering," Yoon Tae-ho, who is in charge of quarantine operations at the country's disaster control headquarters, said in a daily briefing.
The vice minister has not been ordered to go into quarantine at present, and eight other health ministry officials who were present at the meeting have gone home to wait for clinical test results.
South Korea reported less than 100 new COVID-19 cases in each of the last four days. As of midnight, the country has identified 8,413 confirmed cases since its first outbreak in the country on Jan. 20. (Yonhap)