Yangcheon-gu Distributes Approximately 320,000 Masks to Seniors Aged 65 and Over

Starting from the 5th, 5 tickets per person will be sequentially delivered directly to seniors aged 80 and above

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Yangcheon-gu (Mayor Kim Soo-young) will distribute approximately 320,000 masks to seniors aged 65 and over in the district, categorized by age group, starting from the 5th.

As COVID-19 confirmed cases rapidly increased, the demand for hygiene products such as masks and hand sanitizers surged. Thousands of people lined up daily to purchase masks at the “Nationwide No-Margin Mask Sale Event” held by the Happy World Department Store operated by the Small and Medium Business Distribution Center. The same situation occurred at official mask sales locations such as post offices and pharmacies in various regions.

However, in such circumstances, seniors who have difficulty moving or find it hard to stand in long lines inevitably face greater challenges in obtaining masks.

Yangcheon-gu, in its efforts to secure masks, eventually found Theban Cooperative, a preliminary social enterprise producing masks located in Yangcheon Venture Town since August last year.

Theban Cooperative donated 3,000 masks to the Yangcheon Senior Welfare Center and 10,500 masks to the Yangcheon Love Welfare Foundation last month.

Yoon Myung-shin, director of Theban Cooperative, said, “Although it is difficult to produce additional masks due to many pre-existing orders, we intend to actively participate in Yangcheon-gu’s initiative to prioritize delivery to vulnerable groups,” and began mask production.

Yangcheon-gu decided to distribute the secured masks sequentially, providing five masks per person to seniors aged 65 and over.

Distribution will start with seniors aged 80 and above who have difficulty moving, followed by those aged ▲75 to under 80 ▲70 to under 75 ▲65 to under 70. As additional masks are secured, over four rounds, community center staff and local neighborhood leaders will visit homes directly to deliver the masks.

As of the end of February 2020, there are 12,051 seniors aged 80 and above and a total of 61,960 seniors aged 65 and over in Yangcheon-gu.

Additionally, the district secured 22,000 masks for children under six years old through the Seoul Disaster Management Fund and will distribute them to all 297 daycare centers in the district starting from the 5th.

The Yangcheon-gu Volunteer Center is also supporting Yangcheon-gu’s efforts to overcome COVID-19. The volunteer group “Sonkkarak” at the Volunteer Center, supported by a 5 million KRW donation from Cheongmyeong Co., Ltd., a local food waste disposal company, plans to produce washable and reusable cloth masks to support vulnerable groups.

Kim Soo-young, Mayor of Yangcheon-gu, said, “We hope that directly distributing masks to seniors who have difficulty securing them will help prevent COVID-19. We will continue to carefully support vulnerable groups so they do not suffer more, and although everyone is facing difficulties due to COVID-19, we will overcome this crisis together with our residents.”

For more details, please contact the Resident Cooperation Division at ☎2620-3088.

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