Incheon City-Police Conduct Surprise Inspections of COVID-19 Self-Quarantine Subjects...Zero Tolerance for Violators

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] Incheon City announced on the 8th that it will strengthen the monitoring system for COVID-19 self-quarantined individuals in cooperation with the Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency.

During the high-intensity social distancing period from the 7th to the 19th, the city will randomly select self-quarantined individuals and conduct surprise inspections jointly with the police.

Among approximately 2,700 self-quarantined individuals in the region, the city plans to visit about 140 people, corresponding to 5% by district and county, to check for unauthorized departures from self-quarantine.

If a self-quarantined individual leaves without a valid reason, the city will apply a zero-tolerance policy and immediately file charges, excluding them from emergency disaster relief funds and living support payments.

The city plans to take strict measures such as criminal prosecution for negligence causing injury and claims for damages related to quarantine costs and business losses if additional confirmed cases occur.

Violations of self-quarantine may result in imprisonment of up to one year or a fine of up to 10 million won under the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act. So far, the city has filed charges against four self-quarantined individuals who left without valid reasons and is proceeding with charges against three others.

The city matches dedicated public officials to self-quarantined individuals to carefully manage health checks and quarantine status through the 'Self-Quarantine Safety Protection App' and telephone calls. Additionally, it uses a Geographic Information System (GIS) integrated dashboard to monitor departures in real time, 24 hours a day.

An official from Incheon City said, "A meticulous multi-layered monitoring system is necessary to prevent community infections that may arise from unauthorized departures of self-quarantined individuals," and urged, "Citizens are also requested to report immediately if they find anyone leaving quarantine."

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