(LEAD) 16 virus cases reported on Russia-flagged ship docked in Busan

All News 23:31 June 22, 2020

(ATTN: RECASTS lead; UPDATES with more details throughout)

BUSAN, June 22 (Yonhap) -- At least 16 cases of the new coronavirus were reported on a Russia-flagged ship Monday that entered a port in the southeastern city of Busan this week, according to health authorities and a union of port workers.

Of 21 sailors aboard the 3,401 ton-refrigerator vessel, 16 people tested positive for COVID-19, according to health officials.

The ship, which departed from Russia's Vladivostok, arrived at the Gamcheon port in Busan on Sunday.

Around 160 people who came into contact with the patients are currently in isolation, according to a union of port workers. Most of them are port union workers who boarded the ship to help with unloading and ship repair.

At least 34 workers had close contact with the infected sailors.

Most of them are said to have not taken proper preventative measures, like wearing masks, stoking concerns aboout more infections.

The new cases put health authorities on high alert at a time when they are struggling to cope with continued rises in cluster infections in the greater Seoul area and outside the capital.