Jeonbuk COVID-19 Case No. 78 Contacts 77 People Over Two Days

Iksan City Establishes High-Intensity Quarantine System to Block COVID-19

Mayor Jeong Heon-yul is holding a press conference regarding the establishment of a high-intensity quarantine system.

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Tae-in] As it was confirmed that the confirmed case number 8 in Iksan, Jeonbuk (Jeonbuk case number 78) had contact with 77 people over two days, Iksan City has initiated the establishment of a high-intensity quarantine system.

On the 26th, Jeong Heon-yul, mayor of Iksan, held a press conference at the city hall situation room and said, “Due to the continuous increase in COVID-19 confirmed cases, we will establish a high-intensity quarantine system,” urging citizens to cooperate.

A man in his 50s, Mr. A, a colleague of Jeonbuk case number 77, tested positive for COVID-19 the previous day, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in Iksan to eight so far.

Mr. A, who resides in Iksan but works in Jeonju, traveled around Jeonju, Iksan, and Gunsan from the 23rd to the 24th, had contact with 77 people over two days, and was reported to have continuously worn a mask.

The Iksan health authorities are conducting COVID-19 specimen tests on Mr. A and those who had contact with him. Among the 77 people, 47 tested negative, while 30 are either undergoing tests or have not yet been tested.

On the 23rd, between 12:30 PM and 1:10 PM, Mr. A had a meal with his wife at a pork cutlet restaurant in Busong-dong, then moved to Gunsan between 1:10 PM and 4 PM, stopped by a shoe store, and returned to Iksan.

On the same day, Mr. A stayed at a billiard hall until 6:50 PM and at a chicken restaurant in Sindong, Iksan, until 10 PM. During this time, 36 people visited the chicken restaurant.

The next day, the 24th, Mr. A went to work by car with his daughter around 7:30 AM, stayed at the Jeonju office until 1 PM, then moved to Iksan and visited a cellphone agency in Yeongdeung-dong until 4 PM.

Afterward, Mr. A returned to the Jeonju office, met his daughter, and went back home by car around 5 PM.

Mr. A, who had a sore throat symptom, visited the Iksan City Health Center screening clinic at 9:15 AM on the 25th, underwent specimen testing, and received a positive result at 5:20 PM.

As confirmed cases rapidly increased, including Iksan case number 5 (Jeonbuk case number 53), whose movement path is unknown, and Iksan case number 8, which occurred through contact with Jeonbuk case number 77, the city decided to establish a high-intensity quarantine system by raising social distancing to level 2.

First, considering the difficult local economic situation, operation of 10 high-risk facility types will be allowed, but if quarantine rules are violated once, corrective measures and warnings will be skipped, and an immediate assembly ban order will be issued along with consideration of prosecution and claims for damages. If confirmed cases continue to occur, operations will be suspended depending on the situation.

Additionally, various welfare facilities such as senior and disabled facilities will be closed for citizens’ safety. However, senior centers, daycare centers, and local children’s centers, which provide heatwave shelters and emergency care services, will continue to operate as before but will strictly prohibit outside visitors and mandate indoor mask-wearing.

The city postponed or canceled various ongoing events and recommended banning gatherings of more than 50 people indoors and 100 people outdoors, as well as non-face-to-face worship services at religious facilities.

Mayor Jeong Heon-yul said, “If we fail to stop COVID-19 at this stage, quarantine guidelines will inevitably be raised due to the serious situation,” adding, “To return to a stable daily life, please strictly follow the quarantine rules under social distancing level 2 and practice wearing masks anytime and anywhere.”

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