Lee Hyo-jin covers the Bank of Korea, the banking industry and broader financial news. Her previous beats include foreign affairs, North Korea and general reporting on Korean society.
Limited contact data on patients unnerves residents
Health officials carry out disinfection work at the Yoido Full Gospel Church in Yeongdeungpo district, Seoul, Tuesday./ Yonhap
By Lee Hyo-jin
By Lee Hyo-jin
Municipal administrations are facing growing criticism for their disclosure of “limited” contact tracing information on coronavirus patients as the public is increasingly concerned about the spread of the virus amid a surge of infections in Seoul and its surrounding areas.
Since the coronavirus outbreak here in February, local governments had been actively revealing the travel history of confirmed patients on their websites in order to raise transparency and prevent people from visiting areas where infections were thought to have occurred.
However, following revised guidelines announced by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), July 1, local governments are now giving minimum information about infected people's whereabouts prior to testing positive, raising anxiety for many local residents.
A Seongbuk resident surnamed Go posted a petition on the Seongbuk District Office website Aug. 15, urging for more detailed information to be made public.
“A brief summary about a confirmed patient's travel history, which doesn't even include the means of transportation, is not helpful for the public at all. I doubt whether the authorities are thoroughly investigating the travel data through surveillance cameras or credit card records,” the petition read.
Under the new guidelines, revealing personal information such as name, age, gender, and exact address is forbidden to protect privacy. Also, the authorities are advised not to disclose the names of restaurants, cafes or other facilities visited by a confirmed infected person in order to prevent economic damage to local businesses.
On the same day, a resident of Goyang, Gyeonggi Province posted a similar petition on the city council website. Goyang City has reported 145 confirmed patients and 644 residents are being tested.
“How can public safety be ensured if all names are blurred out like '** hospital,' or '** restaurant' ? The city should disclose full names and specific information about a patient's travel history,” the petitioner surnamed Yoon said.
Following mounting discontent toward the authorities, members of the internet community for Goyang residents are gathering opinions to file a complaint on the E-people website, an online platform for public petitions run by the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC).
As the KCDC's guidelines are not mandatory, the contact tracing data disclosed on each different local government website varies between districts, causing more confusion for the public.
Seocho District Office discloses all names of restaurants, cafes, gyms and other places visited by confirmed infected people in the area, including the amount of time spent in each place.
On the other hand, Yeongdeungpo District Office has not revealed any specific information since July.
“The data revealed to the public may vary depending on the case, but we are strictly following KCDC guidelines,” an official at the Yeongdeungpo District Office told The Korea Times.