(LEAD) COVID-19 cluster at remote nursing home infects 62 people

(ATTN: UPDATES with more details in paras 6-8, 10; REVISES paras 3-4 to remove content on cohort isolation; ADDS photo)

SEOUL, Dec. 15 (Yonhap) -- Over 60 coronavirus infections have been traced to an elderly nursing home in a quiet southwestern town, officials said Tuesday, the latest in a spate of infection clusters breaking out at multiuse facilities across the nation.

The number of COVID-19 patients related to Canaan Nursing Home in Gimje, a North Jeolla Province city about 260 kilometers south of Seoul, has risen to 62 and is expected to grow further, the provincial officials said.

The nursing home, where 123 people -- 69 residents and 54 employees -- used to stay, reported its first two confirmed cases Monday and 60 more inhabitants and others tested positive for the coronavirus Tuesday.

The patients include 40 nursing home residents, 19 employees, a public service worker and their family members. Critically ill patients were transferred to hospitals, while mild cases were sent to residential treatment centers, the officials said.

The authorities are conducting more coronavirus testing for other people and families believed to have come into contact with the nursing home residents and employees.

At another nursing home named Aerin in Gimje, meanwhile, an employee who is said to be a friend of the Canaan public service worker was diagnosed with COVID-19 on Tuesday, prompting local health officials to conduct a virus test on all 70 other residents and employees at Aerin.

Gimje with a population of about 80,000 people was one of the nation's least affected areas by the coronavirus, with only two confirmed cases reported prior to the cluster outbreak at Canaan.

The municipality of Gimje also closed its city council building Tuesday after it became known that the spouse of an infected Canaan employee had come in contact with several council officials before being put under self-isolation. The spouse tested negative for the coronavirus, but the municipality took the preemptive measure.

Gimje also announced its decision to raise the city's social distancing level to 2.5, the second highest in the nation's five-tier system, from the current 2.

Song Ha-jin, governor of North Jeolla Province, told reporters that his government will administer the coronavirus test to all residents and employees at the province's 225 elderly nursing homes and 80 convalescent hospitals, beginning Wednesday.

In recent weeks, a string of clusters of coronavirus infections have erupted at elderly nursing homes, churches and other multiuse facilities throughout South Korea, as the nation has reported around 1,000 new cases every day.

ycm@yna.co.kr
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