More than 1,000 confirmed cases in the Eastern detention center… “4 out of 10 infected”

On the 3rd, a convoy with a detainee is leaving the detention center at the Seoul East Detention Center in Songpa-gu, Seoul, where the number of confirmed coronavirus infections (Corona 19) increased to 1084. An additional 126 people were confirmed in the 5th total inspection conducted the day before. News 1-The number of confirmed coronavirus infections (Corona 19) related to the Eastern Detention Center in Seoul was 1084 on the 3rd (1041 prisoners, 22 employees, 21 family members and acquaintances). Another 121 people were confirmed in a full inspection conducted by the Seoul East Detention Center the day before. Four people transferred from the Seoul East Detention Center to the Gangwon North Prison and one Dongbu Detention Center employee were also confirmed. For each of the five tests, which have been conducted five times at intervals of 3 to 5 days, 120 to 300 confirmed patients are pouring. The quarantine experts pointed out, “As a result of the initial insolvency response, Corona 19 has already spread throughout detention centers, and it is the result of systematic separation and tracking management of prisoners even after full inspection.”

The first thorough examination at the Seoul East Detention Center was carried out three weeks after the first confirmed case. On December 18, last year, 2,844 prisoners and employees were tested and 187 were confirmed. On December 23, at the second full-time inspection, 300 people were confirmed, a significant increase from the first time. Subsequently, 260, 140, and 121 were confirmed at the 3rd, 4th, and 5th tests, respectively. Although the number of confirmed cases is decreasing, the confirmation rate (the ratio of confirmed cases among the test subjects) remains unchanged at the first 6.6%, the second 12.3%, the third 15.4%, the fourth 7.9%, and the fifth 10.8%.

The Ministry of Justice is taking measures to decentralize, such as transferring the confirmed cases to North Gyeongsangbuk-do Second Prison and moving hundreds of negatively judged to the Gangwon North Prison and Yeoju Prison, but the situation is not improving. Considering that the total number of detainees at the Seoul East Detention Center was 2149 at the time of the first thorough examination, the proportion of confirmed detainees (1041) reached 43%. It means that 4 out of 10 detainees in the eastern detention center in Seoul were infected.

Kim Mo-ran, chairman of the Corona 19 Countermeasure Committee of the Korean Society for Preventive Medicine, said, “This is a problem caused by the inability to completely separate contacts after the detention center has confirmed the first confirmed cases.” I should have been quarantined while doing it.” Kim Woo-joo, professor of infectious medicine at Korea Daeguro Hospital, said, “There is a’limit of detection’ in the test, so if the virus does not exceed a certain number, a positive reaction will not come out.” He pointed out that there are a lot of cases of receiving. In addition, considering that the incubation period for Corona 19 is usually less than two weeks, it is estimated that many of the prisoners confirmed in the 5th full test are newly infected after the first test. It means there is a hole in the Ministry of Justice’s management of prisoners. Among detainees, it is argued that “the detention center allowed close contacts to stay in the same room as ordinary prisoners even after the first examination.” Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae also posted on his Facebook page on the same day, “It is necessary to quickly determine the cause of the continued number of additional confirmed cases among prisoners who have been negatively judged.” It is believed to be the cause of this spread.”

Some experts point out that even prisoners who have been negatively determined may be asymptomatic carriers, so it is necessary to be cautious about sending them to other correctional facilities. As the spread of Corona 19 from the eastern detention center in Seoul continued, the number of confirmed personnel at correctional facilities nationwide, estimated by the Ministry of Justice, increased to a total of 1108.

Seongho Hwang [email protected]Go to reporter page>Reporter Park Jong-min