Gwangju City Strengthens New Coronavirus Quarantine System

On the 28th, Lee Yong-seop, Mayor of Gwangju Metropolitan City, received a report on the progress of COVID-19 response from autonomous districts and related organizations, and urged them to do their best in responding to the coronavirus infection through thorough preparation and inspection. Photo by Gwangju Metropolitan City

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Gwangju Metropolitan City announced on the 28th that it held an emergency meeting chaired by Mayor Lee Yong-seop in the city hall disaster countermeasure meeting room to strengthen the quarantine system against the novel coronavirus infection.

The meeting was arranged to establish a cooperative system among related organizations and actively respond following the government's upgrade of the infectious disease crisis alert from ‘caution’ to ‘warning’ stage, after the fourth confirmed case of the novel coronavirus infection in China was additionally reported in Korea on the 27th.

The meeting was attended by deputy district heads from five autonomous districts, Gwangju Police Agency, Gwangju Medical Association, and other related organizations to share information related to the novel coronavirus infection and discuss cooperation and support measures for efficient response.

In particular, although no confirmed cases have occurred within Gwangju, considering the continuous increase of confirmed cases domestically and internationally, the city decided to continuously implement ▲ operation of the novel coronavirus countermeasure teams in the city and autonomous districts ▲ management of contacts through designation of one-on-one dedicated public officials ▲ coronavirus testing at the city Health and Environment Research Institute ▲ education on autonomous district response manuals and distribution of medical institution response reinforcement notices ▲ maintenance of six screening medical institutions and nationally designated inpatient treatment beds ▲ request for cooperation to strengthen medical institution responses ▲ pre-inspection of contact isolation facilities in preparation for community spread.

Furthermore, if a novel coronavirus patient occurs in Gwangju, the city plans to establish a regional disaster safety countermeasure headquarters and operate an emergency quarantine countermeasure team 24 hours a day.

Currently, there are two individuals under active surveillance in the Gwangju area. The city holds daily meetings with the Central Quarantine Countermeasure Headquarters and shares domestic and international outbreak situations with autonomous districts and related organizations, raising the response level in accordance with the expansion of confirmed cases in China.

For citizens, customized posters and prevention guidelines for the general public and medical personnel are distributed, emergency disaster messages are sent, prevention guideline text messages are issued, information is broadcast via electronic display boards, and novel coronavirus information is posted on the city and autonomous district websites.

Autonomous districts also operate quarantine countermeasure teams 24 hours a day, monitor active surveillance subjects, and respond according to manuals when contact lists are notified.

The Gwangju Medical Association will check for visits to Wuhan City when patients with fever and respiratory symptoms visit and report suspected cases to health centers. The Police Agency and Fire Safety Headquarters will cooperate with location tracking if confirmed cases occur and support emergency patients and specimen transport.

Mayor Lee Yong-seop of Gwangju said, “Gwangju City, autonomous districts, and related organizations must check response manuals and strengthen management while focusing all efforts on the quarantine surveillance system including epidemiological investigations, designation of treatment hospitals, and patient testing and diagnosis,” adding, “Based on the experience of maintaining a clean area during the MERS outbreak and successfully hosting the Summer Universiade, please respond with vigilance to ensure no damage occurs in this novel coronavirus infection situation.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.