(2nd LD) Major hospital in Seoul on alert after 9-year-old tests positive for coronavirus

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SEOUL, March 31 (Yonhap) -- A nine-year-old girl hospitalized at Asan Medical Center in Seoul tested positive for the coronavirus Tuesday, raising alert over possible transmissions at one of the biggest hospitals in South Korea.

The patient, who was being treated for non-respiratory symptoms in a single-bed room, was transferred to a negative pressure room after testing positive, according to the hospital in eastern Seoul.

An official said the hospital conducted the screening test after she was found to have visited Uijeongbu St. Mary's Hospital in nearby Gyeonggi Province.

The patient initially tested negative when she arrived at the children's emergency room at Asan Medical Center.

The children's emergency center and several other facilities, as well as 45 wards on the 13th floor of the hospital, have been shut down indefinitely.

Patients who had been in adjacent wards have also been moved to negative pressure rooms, the hospital said.

Asan Medical Center is one of the biggest general hospitals in the country, with 2,700 beds, including those for patients in critical condition.

Meanwhile, the Uijeongbu hospital, where 10 cases have been reported, is scheduled to close from 8 a.m. Wednesday and reopen on Monday if no additional cases are reported. The hospital will continue to treat in-patients.

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