this is the story of a fifties civil worker in one of South Korea’s major city DaeGu, its first belatedly diagnosed with MERS after living undetected for almost four Weeks since the first patient was found .
he visited the pronominent SamSung SEOUL Hospital on the Southern out-skirts of the Capital, on May 27 Wednesday and 28 Thursday with his elder sister to see his mother awaiting at their Second Emergency Room . he is known to have spent the whole first day in hospital restaurant and smoking room and slept on the corridor . unable to find a room for his mother next morning : took her to SEOUL’s largest Asan Hospital at South-East after examination, then returned to his DaeGu home via KTX bullet train .
he took to work normally for two Weeks from May 29 Friday, and went dining with co-workers on 8 Monday and 12 Friday, circling alcohol cup according to cultural practice . realizing fever from 13 Saturday afternoon : he took the day off from work and went to MokGan public bath in DongMyeong 5-Dong next day afternoon . after spending an hour there, seeked NamGu Health Office at 10:30am Monday . he was diagnose positive to MERS that afternoon and re-confirmed the next day from Disease Control HeadQuarters .
his sister with whom he visited his mother, was also diagnose positive and is under isolated care in another hospital while his mother is still in SamSung SEOUL Hospital . DaeGu NamGu Regional Administration Office closed DaeMyeong 3-Dong Civil Office where he worked, from yesterday 16 Wednesday with all employees isolated . also closed and sanitized the public bath he visited . authorities are having a hard time on his where-abouts aside from the above, as he is in 38.9C.fever and unable to answer questions .
although SamSung SEOUL Hospital with the most MERS-diagnosed patients to-date, have proclaim to be in pursuit of all suspected to infection : he was NOT on their list and came to notify by himself three Weeks after having spend two days in the hospital . when asked why he did not reveal himself sooner on a phone call with DaeGu City Mayor on 15 Monday while in isolation at DaeGu Medical Center : he said he thought he could manage to take care of himself .
above is a loose translation of related news clippings
– Korea Tech BLog –
