For the first time in Seoul, more than 500 confirmed cases were confirmed, and about half were outbreaks in Eastern detention centers.
Since the first infection last month, the number of confirmed cases related to the Eastern Detention Center has soared to 514, and reporter Jeong Seong-jin analyzed the reason.
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An additional 288 people confirmed at the Eastern Detention Center in Seoul were negative in the last 1st round of inspection.
The building structure of the eastern detention center is blamed for the snowball-like increase in confirmed cases.
Other correctional facilities are two- to three-story low buildings, whereas the Eastern Detention Center is a’apartment-type’ structure consisting of five 12-story buildings in a row.
There are also no outdoor playgrounds in other correctional facilities.
[윤태호/중앙사고수습본부 방역총괄반장 : 운동장이 있어서 다른 구치소는 야외 활동들이 같이 이루어지는데 여기(동부구치소)는 대부분 모든 생활이 실내에서 이루어진다는 그런 특성이 있는 것 같습니다.]
Buildings are connected in a corridor, and they are vulnerable to ventilation, such as using elevators when moving.
More than 2,400 people, 340 more than 2,70 people, are concentrated, and the high density of accommodation seems to be the cause.
The quarantine authorities thought it was unlikely that the infection in the detention center would spread outside.
[윤태호/중앙사고수습본부 방역총괄반장 : 이미 방역망 내에서 관리가 되고 있는 그러한 사항들이었기 때문에 그런 부분들이 지역사회로 추가 전파가 되는 그런 부분은 아닙니다.]
However, out of the 514 confirmed cases, 16 outsiders, including employees’ family members, are completely relieved.
The quarantine authorities have decided to increase the quarantine period for new prisoners from two to three weeks, and only remove them from quarantine when a negative PCR test is confirmed.