Yeongdeungpo-gu Assigns 70% (948) of All Employees as Dedicated Officials for Self-Quarantine Management

Real-time Symptom Check and Departure Monitoring Through 1:1 Matching with Self-Quarantined Individuals

Public Official in Charge of Self-Quarantine Cases

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] Yeongdeungpo-gu (District Mayor Chae Hyun-il) has designated about 70% of its approximately 1,500 employees as dedicated public officials for COVID-19 self-quarantine management, providing 24-hour continuous monitoring and supervision of self-quarantined individuals to establish a seamless community quarantine network.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19 in February this year, a total of 7,555 self-quarantined individuals have been managed and supervised by the district. Excluding those who have been released from quarantine, 811 individuals are currently under the district’s management, and the district maintains a thorough management and supervision system for them.

From the early stages of the COVID-19 crisis, the district designated about 800 employees below grade 6, including team leaders, as dedicated public officials for self-quarantine management. As the pandemic prolonged, the number of personnel was continuously increased, and currently, a total of 948 dedicated public officials?about 130% of the number of self-quarantined individuals?are assigned and active. In preparation for situations such as a surge in self-quarantined individuals in the community, emergency personnel have been arranged in addition to the 1:1 matched staff.

These officials conduct monitoring of their 1:1 matched self-quarantined individuals at least twice daily via the ‘Self-Quarantine Safety Protection’ app and telephone calls, checking in real-time for any COVID-19 symptoms and whether the individuals have left their quarantine locations.

Additionally, the district, in cooperation with the police, conducts unannounced visits at least once a week to verify if anyone has left quarantine and to listen to any difficulties faced during isolation. These weekly visits have been conducted for nearly six months since early March, representing one of the top performances among Seoul’s autonomous districts.

Furthermore, the visits, which were mainly conducted during weekdays and daytime, have recently been expanded to include nights and weekends to ensure that not a single quarantine violation occurs.

As a result of multiple unannounced inspections regardless of day or night and weekends, a total of 29 violators have been detected and all have been reported. Among them, 15 are foreigners and 14 are Korean nationals. Of the 15 foreigners, 3 have been deported, and the remaining 12 are undergoing review.

The district plans to immediately report any detected quarantine violations under a zero-tolerance policy and, in cases where serious problems arise in COVID-19 response, will also claim compensation for quarantine costs and other damages.

Chae Hyun-il, Mayor of Yeongdeungpo-gu, stated, “All district employees are working tirelessly to strengthen the management of self-quarantined individuals,” and added, “We will protect the lives and safety of our residents by establishing a flawless community quarantine network.”

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