Suwon Mayor's Office Temporarily Closed Due to 'Staff Family COVID-19 Positive'... Yeom Tae-yeong Says "Emergency Measures Taken"

Eom Tae-young, Mayor of Suwon. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] The mayor's office at Suwon City Hall in Gyeonggi Province was temporarily closed after the father-in-law of a public official working in the mayor's office tested positive for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

On the 11th, Yeom Tae-young, mayor of Suwon, posted on his Facebook, "My office was closed this morning," adding, "The 75th confirmed case in Suwon was identified as the father-in-law of an employee in the mayor's office, so we took urgent measures first."

He continued, "It has been determined that there was no close contact with the confirmed case, but just in case, both the employee and their spouse were immediately tested and placed under self-quarantine," and "Fortunately, the test results just came back 'negative.'"

Mayor Yeom said, "Generally, secretarial staff take pride in working in the mayor's office despite the hard work," adding, "Such an employee would not have taken their conduct lightly. I believe they were even more strict than others. Yet, this happened. Honestly, who would expect an asymptomatic elder in the family to test positive?"

He added, "COVID-19 is very close to us like this. Since being infected with COVID-19 does not cause visible marks on the face, it is difficult for anyone to definitively say that someone is not infected in daily life."

Mayor Yeom said, "If a secretarial staff member tests positive, I will also enter quarantine and get tested immediately," adding, "Of course, even if I am self-quarantined, our city's communication network, including the electronic approval system, is well established, so it will not cause major disruption to city administration. However, if I were the first mayor in the country to be infected, all the efforts we have made with our citizens might be regrettably undervalued, which is a concern."

Finally, he emphasized, "No one is exempt from COVID-19. Friends can become infected, and so can family members. It is common for one infected person in a household to lead to the infection of the entire household," and "I will also adhere more carefully to the 'daily life quarantine rules' than before."

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