STRICTER CHECKS OVER SELF-ISOLATORS

[Anchor Lead]

When a person comes in contact with another person infected with COVID-19, that person is quarantined for two weeks and must test negative before allowed to go outside. But Disease control authorities are now upping their guard as several people have been found positive for COVID-19 after their self-isolation periods were over.

[Pkg]

​A woman in her 40s self-isolated as she worked at the Coupang distribution center in Bucheon. She tested negative twice before returning to her normal routine on June 6th. But eight days later, her entire family, including her husband and two sons, were confirmed to have contracted COVID-19.

[Soundbite] JANG-HAN A-RAM(INCHEON EPIDEMIOLOGICAL INVESTIGATOR) : "One hypothesis is that the symptoms showed up when the incubation period ended after isolation. But we need more evidence to support this."

The elementary school and the kindergarten where her two sons attended were closed down and hundreds of her contacts had to be tested as well. A woman in her 50s who worked at a call center also tested positive three days after being released from self-isolation. She had already gone back to work for two days by then. Disease control authorities speculate the incubation period could have grown longer than the quarantine period. They're not ruling out other possibilities including different infection routes and testing errors. The city of Incheon decided to put those on quarantine under "active watch" for two days following self-isolation.

[Soundbite] PARK GYU-WUNG(INCHEON CITY GOV'T OFFICIAL) : "If anyone under active watch shows symptoms like fever or coughs, that person is quickly tested and isolated if found to be positive."

Some 2,300 people, including 170 COVID-19 patients in isolation currently, will be watched for an extended period of time. Disease control authorities are not letting their guards down as the risk of community infection grows, following several cases of people testing positive after their self-quarantine is over.