Shinhan Bank said Sunday that it is temporarily shutting down its branch at the Seongnam Industrial Complex Financial Center, Gyeonggi Province, after one of its employees tested positive for COVID-19.

The confirmed patient had visited a hospital funeral center in the southern city of Daegu, where the epidemic has been spreading at a fast pace over the past week, officials said.

After experiencing fever and other symptoms, the patient visited a designated inspection station in the vicinity. During the few days at work, the employee had no face-to-face contact with customers, the bank added.

Shinhan Bank immediately conducted the quarantine procedure as stated in the government’s guidelines and ordered the 19 co-workers to isolate themselves at their respective homes for the next 14 days.

While the will be closed for two days, maintenance staff will be dispatched starting Wednesday, to continue banking operations on a temporary basis.

“As per the contingency plan, we immediately decided to carry out a quarantine and ordered a temporary shutdown,” Shinhan Bank said in a release.

By Bae Hyun-jung (tellme@heraldcorp.com)