One Month into the COVID-19 Resurgence, Gwangju Citizens 'Ignore' Personal Quarantine Rules

‘Social Distancing Level 2’ Last Weekend Crowds Bars

KDCA ‘Emphasizes Mask Wearing’ Ignored…Over Half Not Wearing Masks

On the last weekend of social distancing level 2, around 8:30 PM on the 25th, citizens were gathered in small groups, talking without wearing masks in the entertainment district of Bullo-dong, Dong-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City.

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Seulgi Sung] On the weekend before the end of Gwangju Metropolitan City's extended 'Social Distancing Level 2' due to the spread of COVID-19, concerns about COVID-19 infection were like a story from another world to the young people visiting various entertainment districts in Gwangju.

At around 8:30 p.m. on the 25th, at Bullo-dong in Dong-gu, Gwangju’s representative entertainment district, also known as the 'Old City Hall Intersection.'

This place is usually crowded on weekend evenings with young people dressed up and out drinking. Although the streets were relatively quiet, possibly due to continuous rain, the inside of bars was still bustling with citizens enjoying the weekend.

Despite repeated guidance from the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency that "if everyone wears masks, the infection rate drops to the 1% range," about half of the citizens were walking around without masks.

It was not uncommon to see people sitting close together in bars or restaurants, drinking and talking without masks.

At around 9:30 p.m. the same day, the situation was not much different in another entertainment district, Sangmu District.

Many citizens were not wearing masks at all, and even those who wore masks often wore them incorrectly, such as pulling them down below the chin or hanging them on their ears, far from proper usage.

Although it was noticeable that fewer people came out to enjoy the weekend compared to before, the sense of complacency about COVID-19 safety remained.

Lee Mo (29), who was drinking with friends at a bar, said, "Since COVID, whether there are many or few people, there are always people who come out to drink," adding, "Anyway, everyone here coming out means they don’t really worry much about COVID."

So far, the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the Gwangju area is 203. Among them, 170 cases occurred within about a month since the second wave began spreading in Gwangju on the 27th of last month.

Accordingly, Gwangju City has implemented Social Distancing Level 2 for two weeks starting from the 2nd and extended it once until the 29th.

Mayor Lee Yong-seop of Gwangju appealed on the 24th, saying, "It can never be overstated how important it is for each citizen to comply with quarantine rules," and "Please refrain from unnecessary outings, visiting multi-use facilities, and small gatherings this weekend, and strictly follow quarantine rules such as wearing masks."

Meanwhile, since the second wave of COVID-19 began in Gwangju on the 27th of last month, 170 people have been confirmed positive.

By age group: under 10 years old - 5 people, teenagers - 6 people, 20s - 6 people, 30s - 13 people, 40s - 23 people, 50s - 35 people, 60s - 46 people, 70s - 21 people, 80s - 8 people, 90s - 5 people.

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