'COVID-19' Leaves Busan Gijang with No Place to Stand

Gijang-gun Distributes 80,000 Hand Sanitizers to All Households and Special Occupation Workers in the Area
First in the Nation to Provide Free Masks and Hand Sanitizers to All Households Earlier This Year

Busan Gijang County Office.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] Busan Gijang-gun has decided to distribute one additional 500ml bottle of hand sanitizer free of charge to approximately 72,000 households in the area.

Earlier this year, when COVID-19 was rampant, Gijang-gun attracted attention as the first local government nationwide to distribute 15 health masks and one bottle of hand sanitizer free of charge to every household.

This time, the additional distribution will include all households as well as special occupation workers who have frequent contact with residents, such as 72 post office delivery workers, 180 courier workers, and about 500 taxi drivers, each receiving one additional bottle of hand sanitizer.

On the 6th, 65 additional bottles of hand sanitizer were provided to village buses and Gijang-gun buses to ensure the safety of residents using public transportation.

On the 11th, Oh Gyu-seok, the head of Gijang-gun, instructed to review the free distribution of hand sanitizer to all households and special occupation workers in preparation for the second half COVID-19 pandemic surge.

The Gijang-gun Safety General Division decided to distribute additional hand sanitizer to all households again to prevent further spread, as the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases nationwide exceeded 14,000 as of August 11, and the number of confirmed cases linked to Russian fishing vessels in Busan is increasing.

The county plans to secure 80,000 bottles of hand sanitizer by using contingency funds.

Gijang-gun has also placed hand sanitizer at outdoor sports facilities frequently used by residents to prevent COVID-19 transmission. From July 14 to 27, three bottles of hand sanitizer were placed at each of four outdoor gateball courts, and an average of four bottles were placed next to exercise equipment at 100 outdoor neighborhood sports facilities, including Dolsam Sports Park.

On July 14, a total of 69 bottles of hand sanitizer were placed on exercise equipment at 10 sports facilities around Jwagwangcheon, and on July 20, a total of 84 bottles were placed on exercise equipment at 27 neighborhood parks, including Jungang Park and Sodubang Park in Jeonggwan-eup.

Hand sanitizer is also placed at 336 bus stops frequently used by residents, with plans to complete placement by August 21. The hand sanitizer placed in public places will be regularly inspected and replaced immediately when consumed.

Previously, Gijang-gun secured 130,000 bottles of hand sanitizer and distributed one bottle per household free of charge to all 70,000 households in the area on February 22. It has continuously distributed hand sanitizer free of charge to local daycare centers, kindergartens, elementary, middle, and high schools, as well as multi-use facilities, local businesses, and self-employed individuals.

As of August 11, the total number of hand sanitizer bottles distributed free of charge reached approximately 129,000.

Since February 18, Gijang-gun first provided health masks to residents vulnerable to COVID-19. About 400,000 health masks were distributed fastest among local governments nationwide to senior centers, vulnerable groups (basic livelihood security recipients, low-income groups), daycare centers, kindergartens, and elementary schools in the area.

On February 26, the first free distribution of 350,000 health masks was made to all households in the area, five masks per household. On March 3, the second free distribution of 350,000 masks, five per household, was made to all households. On March 22, the third free distribution of 350,000 masks, five per household, was completed for all households.

After the second free distribution of health masks to all households in March, Gijang-gun made an all-out effort to prevent COVID-19 spread by distributing 10 health masks per person free of charge to about 1,000 pregnant women and mothers within three months postpartum vulnerable to COVID-19, as well as 4,890 teachers at daycare centers, kindergartens, and elementary, middle, and high schools who have contact with many infants and students in the area.

To ensure no residents are left out, about 5,000 infants and children who are home-cared for or registered in Gijang-gun but attend daycare centers or kindergartens in other regions due to circumstances were also provided with a total of about 50,000 masks, 10 per person.

The county provided a total of about 20,000 health masks, 20 per person, in two phases during March and April to 1,095 special occupation workers who have contact with many residents, including about 930 individual taxi drivers, corporate taxi drivers, village bus and Gijang-gun bus drivers, about 110 courier workers, and 55 post office delivery workers.

In April, Gijang-gun distributed 10 health masks per student free of charge to all 8,500 middle and high school students in the area through their schools.

Gijang-gun's proactive COVID-19 response did not stop there. Starting March 27, Gijang-gun began distributing the Gijang-type disaster basic income, the first in the nation, and by April 29, completed 100% payment to 162,651 first applicants nationwide. The Gijang-type disaster basic income provided 100,000 KRW in cash per resident.

Since February 24, Gijang-gun has greatly expanded its quarantine personnel from 19 to 79, centered on the Infectious Disease Prevention Team, and is making all-out efforts to block the spread of COVID-19.

Having experienced MERS in 2015, Gijang-gun established the Infectious Disease Prevention Team, the first dedicated infectious disease department among local governments nationwide, in April 2017 to maintain constant infectious disease response and has built a meticulous quarantine network even during normal times.

In particular, the Infectious Disease Prevention Team has been conducting disinfection at Gijang Market and other locations from 4:30 a.m. on weekdays, weekends, and holidays, taking the frontline role in blocking COVID-19 spread.

From February 24 to August 11, the Infectious Disease Prevention Team and five township and town quarantine teams have conducted disinfection over 44,000 times.

Oh Gyu-seok, head of Gijang-gun, said, "Masks and hand sanitizers are no longer daily necessities but combat weapons that protect our lives."

He added, "Not forgetting the bitter lessons from the 2015 MERS outbreak allowed us to be the first nationwide to distribute masks and hand sanitizers to all households, and in April 2017, we established the Infectious Disease Prevention Team, the first dedicated quarantine department among local governments, enabling us to conduct constant disinfection and quarantine."

A Gijang-gun official proudly stated, "Thanks to residents who strictly follow the guideline to always wear masks when going out and thoroughly observe social distancing in daily life, Gijang-gun has maintained zero community infections."

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