Successful control of COVID-19 outbreak through tracing, testing, and isolation: Lessons learned from the outbreak control efforts made in a metropolitan city of South Korea. Issue 9 (September 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Kang, Seung-Ji; Kim, Sooyeon; Park, Kyung-Hwa; Jung, Sook In; Shin, Min-Ho; Kweon, Sun-Seog; Park, Hyang; Choi, Seong-Woo; Lee, Eungyu; Ryu, So Yeon
• Is Part Of: Journal of infection and public health. Volume 14:Issue 9(2022)
• Page Start: 1151
• Page End: 1154
• Publication Date: 2021-09
• Subjects: COVID-19 -- SARS-CoV-2 -- Contact tracing -- Testing -- Isolation; Communicable diseases -- Periodicals; Public health -- Periodicals; Epidemiology -- Periodicals; Nosocomial infections -- Prevention -- Periodicals; Medical microbiology -- Periodicals; 614.4
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jiph.2021.07.003
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1876-0341

Abstract

Abstract: The first surge of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases began on June 27, 2020 in Gwangju metropolitan city, located in the southwestern part of South Korea, with a population of 1, 501, 000. Local governments and the Korean Center for Disease Control and Prevention immediately started an epidemiologic investigation and traced the contacts of patients using a wide variety of data sources, including location data from mobile devices, credit card transaction, and closed-circuit television footage. Until July 16, 2020, 138 community transmission cases and 10 infection clusters were identified across the city. Through contact tracing, epidemiologic relatedness was found in 136 (98.6%) of 138 cases. Our investigation showed how the extensive and meticulous contact tracing suppressed COVID-19 outbreak in a populated city.