We describe the epidemiology of a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in a call center in South Korea. We obtained information on demographic characteristics by using standardized epidemiologic investigation forms. We performed descriptive analyses and reported the results as frequencies and proportions for categoric variables. Of 1,143 persons who were tested for COVID-19, a total of 97 (8.5%, 95% CI 7.0%–10.3%) had confirmed cases. Of these, 94 were working in an 11th-floor call center with 216 employees, translating to an attack rate of 43.5% (95% CI 36.9%–50.4%). The household secondary attack rate among symptomatic case-patients was 16.2% (95% CI 11.6%– 22.0%). Of the 97 persons with confirmed COVID-19, only 4 (1.9%) remained asymptomatic within 14 days of quarantine, and none of their household contacts acquired secondary infections. Extensive contact tracing, testing all contacts, and early quarantine blocked further transmission and might be effective for containing rapid outbreaks in crowded work settings.

Aims: To examine the relationship between breaks and patient safety in Korean hospitals and determine the mediating effect of missed nursing care on this relationship. Background: Breaks during working hours can affect patient safety; however, few studies have examined the relationship between breaks and patient safety in hospitals and their findings were conflicting. Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted with 399 nurses in Korean hospitals. Multiple linear regression was used to explore the association between breaks, missed nursing care and patient safety. Model 4 of Hayes's (2018) and bootstrapping analysis were employed to identify the mediating effect of missed nursing care. Results: Average break time per shift was about 15 min; most participants had breaks of less than 30 min. Missed nursing care was a complete mediator of the relationship between breaks and patient safety. Conclusion: Break length has an indirect effect on patient safety, medication errors and falls with injury through missed nursing care. Implications for Nursing Management: More discussion is needed to develop policy and mandatory regulations to ensure sufficient breaks and adequate nurse staffing to reduce missed nursing care and enhance patient safety. K E Y W O R D S accidental falls, medication errors, nursing care, patient safety, rest | 2267 MIN et al. reported missing at least one nursing care activity (Griffiths et al., 2018). Another review reported that most nursing personnel (55%-98%) left at least one task undone during their shifts (Jones et al., 2015). The outcomes of missed nursing care are closely related to patient safety. According to Jones et al. (2015) and Recio-Saucedo et al.'s (2018) studies, missed nursing care affects almost all patient safety outcomes including medication errors, patient falls, nosocomial infections, urinary tract infections, pressure ulcers and patient readmission. It is important to eliminate the well-known predictors of missed nursing care (AHRQ, 2019; Kalisch, Xie, & Ronis, 2013) and identify additional associated factors that can be modified. Based on previous research, the most consistent factors of missed nursing care are insufficient nurse staffing (

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We report the first 7,755 patients with confirmed COVID-19 in Korea as of March 12 th , 2020. A total of 66 deaths have been recorded, giving a case fatality proportion of 0.9%. Older people, and those with comorbidities were at a higher risk of a fatal outcome. The highest number of cases of COVID-19 were in Daegu, followed by Gyeongbuk. This summary may help to understand the disease dynamics in the early phase of the COVID-19 outbreaks, and may therefore, guide future public health measures.

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