Uiwang City Expands COVID-19 Testing for All Quarantine Release Cases

[Suwon Ilbo=Seo Dong-young Reporter] On the 27th, Uiwang City and the Uiwang City Health Center decided to expand COVID-19 testing before quarantine release from previously being limited to specific occupational groups to include all quarantined individuals.

Previously, those eligible for testing before quarantine release were limited to healthcare workers, residents and staff of social welfare facilities, students and faculty from daycare centers through high schools, family members living with confirmed patients, those aged 65 and above, and overseas entrants from quarantine-strengthened or designated countries.

However, considering the significant increase in COVID-19 confirmed cases nationwide, the Uiwang City Health Center plans to expand testing to all quarantined individuals starting the 27th to identify asymptomatic infections early.

The incubation period of COVID-19 averages 5–7 days but can be up to one month. Transmission is possible during the incubation period before symptoms appear. With reports showing 26.7% of COVID-19 confirmed patients displaying no symptoms upon hospital admission, management of asymptomatic infections is critical.

Kim Jae-bok, director of the Uiwang City Health Center, stated, "The main symptoms of COVID-19 vary from mild to severe, including fever, cough, shortness of breath, and pneumonia, and some patients may show very mild symptoms or no symptoms at all."

He added, "Approximately 5% of patients are fatal. Since this is related to age and underlying conditions, elderly people aged 65 and above, those with chronic respiratory diseases, hypertension, diabetes, chronic liver disease and other underlying conditions, obesity, and smokers are particularly high-risk factors requiring intensive management due to the increased risk of progression to severe cases."