Iksan City Closes Outdoor Public Sports and Tourism Facilities Following Indoor Closures

Establishing a Quarantine System Equivalent to Social Distancing Level 2

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Hong Jaehee] Iksan City, Jeonbuk Province, is establishing a high-intensity quarantine system by expanding closure measures to outdoor public facilities as COVID-19 spreads nationwide.

On the 21st, the city announced that it will strengthen the quarantine system to a level equivalent to social distancing stage 2 in order to proactively respond to the growing concerns of community infection.

Accordingly, outdoor sports and tourism facilities, following public indoor facilities, will be temporarily closed until the 1st of next month, with decisions on extensions to be made depending on the situation.

The places to be closed include outdoor sports facilities such as gateball courts, park sports facilities, and baseball fields, as well as local tourism facilities such as Wangdo History Museum, Jewelry Museum, Modern History Museum, and the Art Museum at the Arts Center.

However, child welfare facilities such as daycare centers, local children's centers, and Dahamkke Care Centers are excluded. Also, senior centers and some welfare facilities will remain open as they serve as cooling shelters for vulnerable groups.

During the operation period, quarantine managers will be designated to apply strengthened quarantine rules to minimize infection risks.

In addition, a quarantine manual will be established that prohibits entry of outsiders and cooking, limits operation until 4 p.m., and mandates mask-wearing indoors, with daily checks on compliance.

About 300 inspectors will be deployed to increase the frequency of quarantine rule inspections at each facility, and enhanced administrative measures will be applied if compliance is not met.

High-risk facilities such as PC rooms and entertainment bars will be inspected daily instead of twice a week, and medium-risk facilities, including 16 industries such as religious facilities, will have inspections increased from once to twice a week. Low-risk facilities, including door-to-door sales and four other industries, will also be inspected twice a week instead of once.

If quarantine rules are violated, high-risk facilities will be immediately closed by administrative orders banning gatherings. For medium- and low-risk facilities, if violations are detected three or more times, high-risk level quarantine rules will be applied, and if violated twice or more, the facilities will be closed like high-risk facilities.

The high-risk facilities include 440 locations across 8 industries such as entertainment bars, karaoke rooms, and PC rooms, while medium- and low-risk facilities include about 6,700 locations across 22 industries such as religious facilities and restaurants.

Additionally, quarantine managers will be designated at about 8,700 locations including funeral halls, wedding halls, and religious facilities to ensure strict compliance with quarantine rules during facility operations.

The city strongly recommends suspending operations of the 8 high-risk industries, promoting online non-face-to-face worship services at religious facilities, stopping religious small group meetings, and refraining from visiting the metropolitan area, as COVID-19 is at a critical point of spread.

As of the 21st, there are 105 local self-quarantined individuals, with continuous monitoring and unannounced on-site inspections being conducted.

Mayor Jeong Heon-yul said, “Following the occurrence of local confirmed cases and consecutive cases in neighboring local governments, we have decided to strengthen and apply the quarantine system. The next two weeks are expected to be the most critical period for the spread of COVID-19 in the community, so we ask everyone to thoroughly comply with personal hygiene rules.”

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