Abstract
OBJECTIVESIn Korea, there have been 10,480 confirmed cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) as of April 11, 2020. We investigated the transmission of COVID-19 in a cluster of cases.METHODSWe analyzed the epidemiological characteristics of 10 confirmed COVID-19 patients in an outbreak that started at Spa facility A in a local community in Korea on March 28, 2020 and traced them through April 8, 2020. Epidemiological surveys and diagnostic tests were conducted for each contact, and the secondary attack rate was estimated.RESULTSThere were 3 male confirmed patients (30.0%) and 7 female confirmed patients (70.0%), and their mean age was 53.5 years (range, 2.0 to 73.0). Two patients (20.0%) were asymptomatic. The incubation period was between 3 days and 12 days. Three confirmed patients were infected at female’s Spa facility A and 7 confirmed patients were second, third, and fourth generations of transmission. Seven confirmed patients contracted COVID-19 through presymptomatic contact. In total, 192 contacts were identified, with a secondary attack rate of 3.6%. Eighty-three contacts (43.2%) were aged 40-59 years, and the secondary attack rate was the highest (12.1%) in those aged ≥60 years. Most exposures (n=156, 81.3%) involved casual contact. The number of visitors using the female’s spa facility was 58, including 3 confirmed patients, resulting in a secondary outbreak rate of 5.9%.CONCLUSIONSThis study presents a cluster of cases occurring in a setting with high temperature and humidity. The second, third, and fourth generations were transmitted through presymptomatic contact.
Highlights
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak, which began in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, has spread throughout the world
We investigated the degree to which the spread of COVID-19 can be controlled through the analysis of presymptomatic transmission patterns and contact tracing based on an outbreak that occurred in a local community in Region A, Korea
We examined how COVID-19 spread after an outbreak that started with 10 interconnected individuals at Spa facility A (Figure 3)
Summary
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak, which began in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, has spread throughout the world. Correspondence: Taewon Han Local Epidemic Intelligence Officer and Public Health Doctor, Gyeongsangnam-do 52732, Korea Received: Jun 12, 2020 / Accepted: Jul 24, 2020 / Published: Jul 29, 2020 This article is available from: https://e-epih.org/. In Korea, there were 10,480 confirmed cases and 211 deaths due to COVID-19 as of April 11, 2020, after a person who entered the country from Wuhan on January 20, 2020 was confirmed with COVID-19. Sporadic cases of COVID-19 are still reported across the country [2]
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