Gwangju City, Social Welfare Facilities Reclose... Indefinite Measure

Gwangju City Hall

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Gwangju Metropolitan City announced on the same day that, as additional COVID-19 cases have occurred and concerns about the spread of community infection have increased, some social welfare facilities and senior citizen cafeterias in the area will be closed indefinitely starting from the 21st.

The closure targets include 9 senior welfare centers such as Bitgoeul and Hyoryeong Senior Town, mainly used by vulnerable groups like the elderly, 20 comprehensive social welfare centers, 7 disability welfare centers, and 27 senior cafeterias.

Jobs for the elderly and disabled will also be suspended for the time being, except in unavoidable cases due to the nature of market-type projects.

Earlier, the city had temporarily suspended operations of these social welfare facilities from the 6th to the 18th after a COVID-19 case was confirmed in Gwangsan-gu on the 5th, but resumed operations from the 19th as no further cases were reported.

The social welfare facilities subject to closure will suspend all programs and senior cafeteria operations until further notice, but to minimize inconvenience for elderly people at risk of food insecurity, simple meals or lunchbox deliveries will be provided as alternatives.

Additionally, welfare center staff and social service agents will continue to work normally during the closure period and actively prepare for various emergency situations.

Ryu Mi-su, head of the city’s Social Welfare Division, said, “Active response is necessary at an early stage to block the community transmission of COVID-19,” and added, “We ask all citizens to refrain from visiting high-risk areas and to actively practice preventive measures such as wearing masks and washing hands.”

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