Seocho-gu Releases 56,250 Masks to Solve 'Mask Shortage'...

Seo Eun-hee, Seocho-gu Mayor, Sees Success with '1°C Administration'... Pharmacies Start Selling Masks at 9 AM with Concept of Lending Masks for Sale the Day Before and After... Administrative Staff Support Reduces Waiting Time and Ensures Hygienic Individual Packaging, Aiming for 1°C Lifestyle Administration

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Due to the spread of the novel coronavirus COVID-19, mask shortages have occurred nationwide, and although the mask 5-day rotation system has been implemented since the 9th, confusion and inconvenience for residents trying to purchase masks and pharmacies have only increased at the frontline.

Delivery times for masks vary by pharmacy, and sales hours differ, causing many residents to make wasted trips. Pharmacies are also complaining of excessive workload due to the time required for program input and verification.

In this situation, Seocho-gu (District Mayor Jo Eun-hee, photo) has come up with a clever solution to reduce residents' confusion, drawing attention.

The district introduced the concept of "lending masks to be sold the next day on the previous day" to enable mask sales at fixed times.

On the 9th, the district pre-distributed a total of 56,250 masks it had secured to 225 local pharmacies, allocating 250 masks to each.

This pre-distribution allowed pharmacies to secure an additional 250 masks beyond the daily sales quantity of 250 masks, enabling sales even before the official mask stock for the day arrived.

Starting from the 10th, the plan is to sell masks at designated times, with newly arriving masks on the day to be sold at the same time the following day. The distributed masks were secured by the district for vulnerable groups, involving efforts such as traveling directly to places like Anseong and other local areas to transport and obtain the stock.

Lee Eun-kyung, president of the Seocho-gu Pharmacists Association, explained, "From the pharmacists' perspective, we wanted to inform customers in advance about the time masks would be sold. It was possible if there was a day's worth of mask surplus, and Seocho-gu solved this problem."

Going forward, the district plans to sell public masks starting at 9 a.m. However, for pharmacies that do not open at 9 a.m., they will set mask sales times accordingly and notify residents in advance to reduce confusion.

Additionally, through active collaboration between the district and the Seocho-gu Pharmacists Association, a "hotline" has been established for residents who find it difficult to purchase masks in person. For residents with mobility difficulties, if they explain their situation to the pharmacy, the district office will deliver masks through the local community center via this collaboration.

Along with this, the district and the Pharmacists Association are meticulously ensuring hygienic and clean individual packaging so that public masks delivered in bundles are not sold to residents with opened packaging.

This reflects the district's meticulous administration and can be seen as the strength of Seocho-gu's "1°C Life Administration" initiative.

To address the excessive workload at pharmacies, the district is also providing manpower support. About 75% of all pharmacies operate with one or two staff members, and the current system requires three steps?ID verification, purchase record input, and payment?which inevitably leads to long waiting times.

Therefore, the district is currently supporting 37 pharmacies with one staff member each, totaling 37 personnel, to assist with system input and guidance. This is expected to alleviate workload congestion at pharmacies and minimize the inconvenience of residents waiting in long lines.

Seocho-gu’s policies like these have been proposed as improvement measures related to public mask sales at the "Mayor-District Mayor Emergency Video Meeting" held on the 9th and have also been suggested to the Blue House.

Jo Eun-hee, Seocho-gu Mayor, stated, "The ones suffering the most from the mask crisis are our residents. Based on the strength of the 1°C Life Administration, the district will continue to seek and strive for various measures to resolve inconveniences from the residents' perspective."

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