Gov't scrambles to contain spread of virus at 'crowded' places

A medical staff member, center, makes the sign of a heart with her fingers, while her colleagues smile, at Keimyung University Dongsan Medical Center in Daegu, Wednesday, as they make their way to wards where COVID-19 patients are hospitalized. Yonhap

By Jun Ji-hye

The Moon Jae-in administration is scrambling to prevent potential COVID-19 infection clusters at places where many people gather, following the large number of new infections at an insurance company's call center in southwestern Seoul, officials said Wednesday.

As part of such efforts, the government decided to designate call centers, clubs, gyms and other establishments frequented by large numbers of people as high-risk areas and mobilize more resources to quarantine them.

The move comes after an alarming new mass infection of the novel coronavirus was reported at the call center in Guro, at a time when reports of new cases in Daegu, the southeastern city at the center of the nation's COVID-19 outbreak, have been decreasing in recent days.

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) reported 242 new cases of COVID-19, Wednesday, up from 131 new cases a day earlier, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 7,555.

So far, 65 people have died from the virus, most of whom were elderly patients with underlying illnesses.

KCDC Director Jung Eun-kyeong said at least 90 confirmed cases have been reported at the Guro call center since March 8.

“An epidemiological investigation into the case is underway to trace the infection route,” she said during a briefing.

Amid growing concerns over potential mass transmissions nationwide, following the major cluster of infections linked to the Daegu branch of the Shincheonji Church of jesus, the government has decided to designate crowded workplaces as high-risk areas to monitor and manage more thoroughly.

Yoon Tae-ho, a senior health ministry official who is in charge of quarantine designation, said the government will issue containment guidelines for call centers, private cram schools, noraebang (singing rooms), nightclubs, gyms and internet cafes, among others.

“Following the group infection at the Guro call center, it has become an urgent task to monitor workplaces that have environments particularly vulnerable to infections,” Yoon said, noting that crowded spaces were exposed to higher risks of droplet infection.

The new coronavirus spreads through droplets or close contact, according to the health authorities.

“Relevant ministries are working together to prevent the recurrence of cases similar to the one at the Guro call center,” he added.

The guidelines will call on those in charge of crowded workplaces to offer flexible work arrangements for employees or allow them to work from home.

The guidelines will also call for widening the distance between desks to decrease “population density.”

Yoon said compulsory measures including suspension of business would be decided on by the competent authorities, if necessary.

For his part, Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon said the Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to monitor more than 400 call centers in the capital and ask owners of karaoke rooms, clubs and internet cafes to suspend their business.

Meanwhile, the Government Complex in Sejong, which has about 15,000 workers, has also been hit by the new coronavirus, with at least six civil servants, including ones working for the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, confirmed to have been infected.

Hanyang University in Seoul has shut down part of its facilities after one of its students tested positive for the virus. Kyung Hee University also did the same after a graduate infected with the virus visited the school.