Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday afternoon that earlier reports of a doctor dying from COVID-19 were inaccurate. The Centers did confirm, however, that the doctor-turned-patient was in a critical state.

The clarifications came after a local outlet had reported that a doctor in North Gyeongsang Province died Thursday morning after contracting the virus from a patient who came to his office.

The hospital in the province, which handles severe to critical cases of the disease, told The Korea Herald that the doctor in his late 50s was admitted to the hospital the evening of March 18 for virus symptoms and tested positive the next day. He has been at the intensive care unit since.

Last week, health authorities said at least 121 medical workers had been confirmed to have the virus in Daegu, a city at the heart of the country’s outbreak near the province. The tally for other regions is not available yet.

(khnews@heraldcorp.com)