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| Jung Eun-kyeong, head of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, speaks at a briefing on coronavirus contamination at the government complex in Sejong, Friday. /Yonhap |
By Bahk Eun-ji
The government confirmed an additional case of the new coronavirus infection Thursday, bringing the total number of such cases to 24.
The 24th patient is among 701 Korean evacuees from the city of Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak. They were brought home earlier this month and have been under quarantine at state-run facilities in Asan and Jincheon in the Chungcheong provinces.
According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), the new patient, a 28-year-old Korean man, is a colleague of the country's 13th patient, and both went on the same business trip to Wuhan. The two of them were evacuated from the Chinese city on the same chartered flight.
"The newly confirmed patient tested positive after showing symptoms including a sore throat while he was staying in the quarantine facility in Asan. The patient was immediately sent to the National Medical Center last night," KCDC director Jung Eun-kyeong said during a press briefing at the Government Complex in Sejong.
Jung said other people in the facility would have little chance of being infected as the man had been isolated in a single room there.
"However, additional tests will be conducted on the people who used same bus as the patient when they were moved to the facility from the airport last Friday," he added.
As of 9:00 a.m. Friday, the country has tested 1,130 people for the coronavirus, 842 of whom tested negative. A total of 264 people are in quarantine over suspected infection.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) announced that it has designated its Seoul Urban Solutions Agency, located in southern Seoul, as a temporary quarantine center for Seoul citizens, especially for those needing a facility to put themselves under quarantine.
Those who have mobility difficulties, who don't have a guardian or family members to take care of them can also use the quarantine facility, according to the city government.
The SMG said it chose the agency because it is a public facility with separate individual rooms, and is relatively far from residential areas and elementary schools.
Meanwhile, from Friday, the virus test became available at 46 medical centers, including private hospitals, across the country, in an effort to contain the further spread of the virus to the regional community.
The health ministry originally only allowed people who had been to China within the last 14 days to have the test but changed this Thursday. Now, people with symptoms and a doctor's recommendation can have the free test.
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