Seoul Area Senior Centers to Gradually Reopen from the 3rd... Cooking and Eating Prohibited

Only 50% of Capacity Allowed After Thorough Disinfection and Sanitization

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] Senior centers in Seoul, which had been closed to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), will reopen for 4 hours a day.

Seoul City announced on the 2nd that, following the guidelines of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, it will gradually reopen senior centers in the district starting from the 3rd. To minimize gaps in community care, the city had been gradually resuming operations of social welfare facilities since the 20th of last month, but senior centers, which are used by elderly people who are relatively vulnerable in terms of immunity, had been excluded due to the nature of the facilities.

However, considering that the prolonged closure of senior centers could cause difficulties in the mental and physical stability of the elderly, it was decided to operate them on the premise of strict compliance with quarantine rules. However, the timing of reopening senior centers may vary depending on the conditions such as infection control response and prior preparations by each autonomous district.

Since the reopening of senior centers is premised on preventing COVID-19 infection, operating hours will be from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. (4 hours per day), and all activities including meals, cooking or eating, and various program operations are prohibited at the senior centers. Also, according to social distancing measures, only 50% of the capacity can be used, and it is specially recommended that each elderly person use the center only 2 to 3 times per week on weekdays.

Non-face-to-face and non-contact programs such as outdoor gardening will be operated minimally by the autonomous districts, taking into account the opinions of the elderly and following quarantine guidelines. Considering the trend of COVID-19 spread, small-scale programs with fewer than 10 participants will be expanded during the second phase of reopening senior centers in the future.

To partially open senior centers, each autonomous district and the Korea Senior Citizens Association branch will support the designation of infection control officers (quarantine managers) at senior centers, the preparation and storage of visitor logs, and provide quarantine supplies such as masks and hand sanitizers. The infection control officer will thoroughly manage quarantine by checking the temperature and respiratory symptoms of all visitors, disinfecting the facilities, and conducting pre-inspections to ensure that the elderly can safely use the senior centers.

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