Yangcheon-gu Mayor Kim Su-young Delivers Urgent Message to Residents

Due to the implementation of full Social Distancing Level 2, operation of facilities such as welfare centers, senior centers, libraries, and community centers within the district is suspended until August 30... All in-person gatherings and activities organized by churches are completely prohibited under church assembly restrictions, allowing only non-face-to-face worship services.

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Kim Soo-young, Mayor of Yangcheon District, delivered an enhanced COVID-19 response message to the residents of Yangcheon on the 18th, following Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun's national address and the government's full escalation to Level 2 social distancing.

As confirmed cases related to Sarang Jeil Church in Seongbuk District have been spreading rapidly, and secondary local infections continue to increase, with congregants distributed across various regions raising concerns of nationwide spread, an emergency message was issued to strengthen quarantine measures with the cooperation of district residents.

In accordance with the government's strengthened Level 2 social distancing, Yangcheon District has decided on the following guidelines for the operation of multi-use facilities within the district, to be applied until August 30.

First, welfare centers, senior citizen centers, and 18 community centers in the district will be closed, and program operations suspended.

Additionally, libraries including youth reading rooms, cultural centers, cultural institutes, lifelong learning centers, and future education centers will also cease operations.

Indoor and outdoor sports facilities will be closed as well. However, as a countermeasure against the ongoing heatwave, cooling shelters at the community service centers will remain open, and the outdoor library's contactless lending service will continue.

Senior meal services will operate under strict quarantine guidelines to minimize nutritional imbalance among the elderly.

Daycare centers, originally scheduled to open on August 18, will remain closed until a separately designated period, with operation limited only to emergency care.

Furthermore, the district will conduct inspections of churches and private high-risk facilities. This is in response to the government's ban on gatherings of more than 50 people indoors and 100 people outdoors for private and public meetings, assemblies, and events.

The inspection targets include 12 high-risk facilities subject to gathering bans, such as churches, clubs, karaoke rooms, buffets, PC rooms, and large academies with over 300 people. In particular, for churches, all face-to-face meetings and activities organized by the church are completely prohibited under the gathering restriction measures, allowing only non-face-to-face worship services. Eating inside the facilities is also banned, and visitor logs must be strictly managed.

About 1,000 district employees will be organized into inspection teams and will begin checking compliance with the gathering ban at these facilities starting on the 19th.

Violations of the gathering ban may result in fines of up to 3 million KRW under Article 80, Clause 7 of the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act, and in the event of confirmed cases, claims for hospitalization, treatment, and quarantine costs may be pursued.

Kim Soo-young, Mayor of Yangcheon District, stated, “The cluster infections that began at Sarang Jeil Church and other multi-use facilities continue to occur, and the spread of community infections remains severe. We are facing a serious crisis. Yangcheon District will suspend operations of local facilities and proactively inspect churches and high-risk facilities to actively respond to the rapidly spreading infections centered in the metropolitan area.”

He added, “The risk of infection is no longer limited to high-risk facilities but has increased everywhere in our daily lives, including restaurants and cafes. Therefore, residents are urged to maintain personal hygiene more thoroughly and strictly adhere to strengthened infectious disease prevention rules such as the gathering ban at high-risk facilities.” He emphasized, “Yangcheon District will devote all its efforts to preventing the spread of COVID-19 and ensuring the safety of its residents.”

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