Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Feb;11(1):60-63.
doi: 10.24171/j.phrp.2020.11.1.09.

Contact Transmission of COVID-19 in South Korea: Novel Investigation Techniques for Tracing Contacts

COVID-19 National Emergency Response Center, Epidemiology & Case Management Team, Korea Centers for Disease Control & Prevention

Contact Transmission of COVID-19 in South Korea: Novel Investigation Techniques for Tracing Contacts

COVID-19 National Emergency Response Center, Epidemiology & Case Management Team, Korea Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. Osong Public Health Res Perspect. 2020 Feb.

Abstract

In the epidemiological investigation of an infectious disease, investigating, classifying, tracking, and managing contacts by identifying the patient's route are important for preventing further transmission of the disease. However, omissions and errors in previous activities can occur when the investigation is performed through only a proxy interview with the patient. To overcome these limitations, methods that can objectively verify the patient's claims (medical facility records, Global Positioning System, card transactions, and closed-circuit television) were used for the recent ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 contact investigations in South Korea.

Keywords: 2019 novel coronavirus infection; contact tracing; global positioning system; infectious disease; medical records.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Stepwise approach in monitoring contacts when a patient with COVID-19 is detected. GPS = global positioning system.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Thacker SB, Stroup DF, Sencer DJ. Epidemic assistance by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Role of the Epidemic Intelligence Service, 1946–2005. Am J Epidemiol. 2011;174(11 Suppl):S4–15. doi: 10.1093/aje/kwr307. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [Internet] Infection prevention and control recommendations for hospitalized patients with Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) Atlanta (GA): Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 2015. [cited 2015 Jul 27]. Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/mers/infection-prevention-control.html.
    1. World Health Organization [Internet] Infection prevention and control of epidemic and pandemic prone 21 acute respiratory infections in health care: WHO guidelines. Geneva (Switzerland): World Health Organization; 2015. [cited 2015 Jul 5]. Available from: http://www.who.int/csr/bioriskreduction/infection_control/publication/en/
    1. Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. COVID-19 Response and Management Guidelines. 3rd ed. Cheongju (Korea): Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 2020.