Almost 200 cases of the norovirus have been reported and dozens of staff members have been left in quarantine at a remote youth training facility to prevent the spread of the illness, according to local reports.
Staff members in quarantine have told the Korean Herald that they’ve effectively been left in the dark by health officials.
An unidentified official from the Winter Olympic Committee said: “The disease control officials should have shut the facility from outside at the earlier stage of the outbreak just days before the 2018 Games began.
“As you can see, anyone can come into the Horeb Youth Center without an identification check. Even the infected patients here often sneak out of the place for dinner.”
Many of the staff in quarantine took the Olympics jobs to earn a bit of extra cash, but they now fear they will not be paid for the time they have spent in quarantine.
One worker said: “We just came here to work and earn money.
“I’ve been in quarantine since February 2, but they have given me no specific instruction on what to do.
“They’re just telling us to wait.”
Another added: “It’s a virus that cannot be treated with antibiotics, and I get that.
“But at least they should explain to us whether we will get paid if we continue to stay in quarantine.”
The norovirus is one of the most common winter stomach bugs, responsible for gut-wrenching cramps, aching limbs, fevers and headaches.
So far none of the Olympic athletes have been infected by the virus.
Officials from the Pyeongchang organising committee said tests were being carried out on tap water, food items and catering staff to try to establish the source of the outbreak in South Korea.
Kim Hyun-jun, director of the Korea Centre for Disease Control & Prevention (KCDC), confirmed the authorities were battling the spread of the virus.
He said no deaths have been reported, despite false and misleading headlines on social media, and added the winter flu typically clears out without medical treatment after several days.
Dr Kim said: “In order to stop the further outbreak of the virus, we’re quarantining patients beginning from the diagnosis to the treatment. We’re going to minimise this outbreak.”