Eunpyeong-gu 'Public Mask' Sales Hours at 1 PM and 5 PM

Eunpyeong Residents and Volunteers Produce 'Good Breath Masks'... Sold at 180 Pharmacies on Weekdays at 1 PM or 5 PM... Eunpyeong Community Creates 'Jeong Sharing Health Masks'

Cloth Masks Made by Residents

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] There is a district that is responding swiftly to the COVID-19 mask shortage through public-private collaboration.

Eunpyeong-gu (District Mayor Kim Mi-kyung) announced that to minimize residents' inconvenience regarding the sale of public masks, masks will be sold at designated times.

Additionally, Eunpyeong residents have attracted attention by producing personal masks made of cloth, an essential item in individual preventive measures, and supplying them to residents.

As part of the policy to stabilize mask supply, the ‘Mask Purchase 5-Day Rotation System’ was implemented. On the first day of implementation, the 9th, Eunpyeong-gu formed an inspection team from the Audit Office staff and conducted on-site inspections at 191 locations in the area.

The on-site inspection revealed that each pharmacy had different mask delivery and sales times, causing residents to make wasted trips when purchasing masks. To resolve this issue, Eunpyeong-gu consulted with the Pharmacists Association and others.

Accordingly, starting from the 12th, public mask sales will be conducted twice a day on weekdays (1:00 PM and 5:00 PM), with each pharmacy in the area selling masks according to the time they set within these options.

Pharmacy-specific sales times can be checked on the Eunpyeong-gu website (www.ep.go.kr) from the 12th. However, some pharmacies may have different sales times due to circumstances, so separate confirmation is necessary.

The Mask 5-Day Rotation System, which restricts purchases based on the last digit of the birth year assigned to specific weekdays, requires inputting the resident registration number into the duplicate purchase verification system when buying masks. Therefore, pharmacies staffed by only one person inevitably face labor shortages.

In response, Eunpyeong-gu will provide manpower support to 46 pharmacies with single-person shifts until their operations stabilize.

Volunteers are actively producing cloth masks voluntarily. The Eunpyeong-gu Volunteer Center will produce 1,000 ‘Good Breath Masks’ from the 12th to the 20th and supply them to vulnerable groups in welfare blind spots.

The masks are made of cloth to enhance durability. The Volunteer Center is producing 1,000 cloth ‘Jeongnanum Health Masks’ together with organizations such as the Village Community Support Center, Social Economy Hub Center, Eunpyeong Village Net, and village enterprises.

Also, the Eungam 3-dong Community Security Council is producing 500 cloth masks and distributing them to people in need of masks.

The Sinsa 1-dong Resident Center in Eunpyeong-gu contributed in some measure to the mask shortage caused by COVID-19 by producing cloth masks and distributing them to staff to supply even a single mask to residents.

They also distributed a small number of masks they had on hand free of charge, one per day, to visitors as a preventive measure.

Kim Mi-kyung, Mayor of Eunpyeong-gu, said, "The Mask 5-Day Rotation System is in effect, allowing each person to purchase up to two masks once a week based on their birth year. I ask for your participation with a spirit of concession and consideration." She added, "The voluntary production of cloth masks by volunteers and various organizations will spread a warm and good virus to vulnerable groups."

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