FIRST CASE CONFIRMED AT SKI RESORT

[Anchor Lead]

The first case of COVID-19 at ski facilities this winter has been confirmed at Gangwon-do Province. The facility has been closed, but concerns are rising that other ski resorts might be affected as well.

[Pkg]

A ski resort in Pyeongchang. There's very little activity on the slopes. This winter, the number of visitors to this facility plunged to 30 percent of 2019. In just four days, six people at this resort tested positive for COVID-19. The first case was confirmed on December 13. It was a temporary worker from the ski rental section. Three other temporary workers who lived in the same quarters with the infected tested positive later. Two more staff members also contracted the virus in the same cluster. All six of the infected are in their 20s. Three of them got tested in Gangneung, two in PyeongChang, and one in Donghae. The source of their infection is still unknown. The ski resort closed to undergo disinfection.

[Soundbite] (STAFF AT YONGPYONG SKI RESORT(VOICE ALTERED)) : "We will have as many workers as possible get tested, and disinfect the entire facility once more."

A makeshift testing station was set up in the staff dormitory and some 500 people have been tested so far.

[Soundbite] CHANG JAE-SEOK(PYEONGCHANG COUNTY GOVERNMENT) : "The outbreak is unlikely to affect customers. We are testing all staff members, including part-timers, and conducting an epidemiological investigation."

Local residents with symptoms as well as those who visited ski resorts recently are also getting tested. Quarantine authorities are investigating if the infected had contact with a person who tested positive for the virus in Gangneung on December 13, as the latter has been found to have visited the ski resort in question on December 10 and 11.