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May 29, 2009
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| The number of domestic influenza A(H1N1) cases climbed yet again yesterday as health officials confirmed that three more patients - one Korean and two American English teachers - have contracted the disease. It marks the seventh straight day the Health Ministry has discovered additional cases of the new flu here. The Korean patient is a 19-year-old male studying in New York who arrived at Incheon International Airport on Tuesday for the summer break. The ministry said its concerns that the disease could spread as Koreans studying abroad come home for the summer “seem to be materializing.” The two Americans are associated with Chungdahm Learning, a Seoul-based company that operates language institutes across the country and recently brought over 65 English teachers from abroad. One is a 41-year-old female and the other is a Korean-American male who was in charge of training the new teachers. Health officials have now discovered 22 flu cases among those teachers, making it the first group contraction of the disease in Korea. The company has temporarily shut its branches until June 2 to prevent further spread of the flu. The teachers, recruited from several English-speaking countries, have been quarantined in southern Seoul since last Saturday. One of them, Andrew Van Wey, has been sharing his experiences through a blog titled “English teachers under quarantine in South Korea.” The American has posted detailed accounts of his days isolated from the outside world, describing a laid-back - if somewhat boring - atmosphere where the hours are spent sun tanning, snapping photos of each other donning the face masks health officials advised them to wear and finding other ways to pass the time. The blog includes plenty of pictures, including shots of the food provided - dishes have included miso soup, pork cutlets and kimchi. “Once a clear line of communication was established with the outside world - embassies, schools, family and friends - people [here] seem pretty upbeat,” Van Wey, who spent his 30th birthday in quarantine, said in an e-mail interview. “Now it’s just a matter of sticking it out and not going mad from boredom.” The teachers are scheduled to be discharged today. As news of the Chungdahm infections spread, some other English-language institutes scrambled to reassure parents of enrolled students that they are checking the body temperatures of foreign teachers on a daily basis and keeping an eye out for flu symptoms. The World Health Organization said Wednesday that the total death toll from the influenza has topped 100, while officially reported cases have topped 12,000. The organization, however, said the virus had not yet reached pandemic levels. By Seo Ji-eun [spring@joongang.co.kr] |
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