Daegu City, COVID-19 Testing for Dormitory Students from the Seoul Metropolitan Area

Raising Social Distancing to Level 2 in the Capital Area
Cooperation Requested from Daegu Metropolitan Office of Education and Universities
Mayor Kwon Young-jin: "Serious Situation During Holidays and in the Capital Area"

On the 16th, when the government raised social distancing measures to Level 2 in the Seoul and Gyeonggi areas, church members at Yeouido Full Gospel Church in Seoul were undergoing temperature checks. Photo by Kim Hyun-min

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Dong-wook] Daegu City entered an emergency response system to strengthen quarantine measures during the holiday period and ensure immediate response, following the elevation of social distancing to Level 2 in the Seoul metropolitan area due to the resurgence of COVID-19 on the 16th.

Ahead of the second semester school opening, Daegu City plans to request cooperation from the City Office of Education and universities to ensure that middle, high school, and university students from the metropolitan area who enter dormitories within the region undergo COVID-19 diagnostic testing in advance.

As the number of confirmed cases recently surged mainly in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province to levels comparable to those in March, the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters raised the 'social distancing level' in the metropolitan area from Level 1 (everyday distancing) to Level 2 for two weeks starting at midnight on the 16th.

Mayor Kwon Young-jin of Daegu stated, "We are taking the recent situation in the metropolitan area very seriously," and recalled the sharp increase in confirmed cases linked to the Itaewon clubs after the early May holiday period, noting, "With the long rainy season just ending and a three-day holiday period approaching, there is a high risk of neglecting quarantine rules at vacation spots."

He added, "Please refrain as much as possible from unnecessary outings, gatherings, use of multi-use facilities, especially meetings or assemblies in the metropolitan area," and emphasized, "Visitors from the metropolitan area should conduct self-monitoring equivalent to that of daily contacts."

Meanwhile, a case of community infection was confirmed in Daegu for the first time in 44 days on the same day. Mr. A, who lives in Songpa-gu, Seoul, visited relatives in Daegu on the 13th and 14th, and after being notified as a 'contact of a confirmed case in Seoul,' tested positive at the screening clinic of Kyungpook National University Hospital.

Accordingly, as of midnight on the same day, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Daegu increased by one from the previous day to 6,947. The occurrence of local COVID-19 infections in Daegu was the first in one and a half months since the 4th of last month.

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