Daegu Citizens' 'Number of Trips to the Capital Area' Halved Compared to Last Year... Regional Influx Remains Steady

Daegu City Citizen Mobility Big Data Analysis Results
Movement from Capital Region to Daegu Decreased by Only 11%
"Reaffirming the Importance of Individual Compliance with Quarantine Rules"

On September 2nd, sudden heavy rain poured over the Suseong-gu area in Daegu due to the impact of Typhoon Maysak, prompting citizens to hurry on their way to work. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Dong-wook] Since the implementation of the 'Enhanced Social Distancing Level 2' measures in response to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), the movement of Daegu citizens to the Seoul metropolitan area has dropped to less than half (53%) compared to last year, but the inflow from the metropolitan area has not decreased.

According to the big data analysis of citizen movement announced by Daegu City on the 3rd, movement from Daegu to the metropolitan area began to noticeably decrease around the 22nd, when COVID-19 cases surged in the metropolitan area, and during the last week of August (24th to 30th), it sharply declined by 42% compared to the previous year.

During the same period, movement to other regions excluding the metropolitan area decreased by about 15%. Looking at specific dates, over the past weekend (August 29th to 30th), Daegu citizens' movement to the metropolitan area decreased by 53% compared to last year.

On the other hand, movement from the metropolitan area to Daegu increased by 12% during the vacation period from July 1st to August 22nd, due to increased domestic travel following restrictions on overseas entry. Even during the 2nd and 3rd weeks of August, when COVID-19 cases surged in the metropolitan area, it increased by up to 20%, then decreased by 9% only in the 4th week. Looking at specific dates, over the past weekend (August 29th to 30th), movement from the metropolitan area to Daegu decreased by only 11% compared to last year.

Movement within the Daegu region slightly decreased. Due to remote classes and staggered school attendance, movement from May to August decreased by about 10% compared to the previous year, but in the past week, it decreased by 17%, showing less movement than usual.

After the occurrence of a cluster infection in the metropolitan area (August 16th), movement from Daegu to other regions sharply decreased, but the inflow from the metropolitan area remained, and movement within the region also decreased slightly compared to usual levels. This confirmed once again the importance of each citizen's adherence to quarantine rules, according to Daegu City.

Chae Hong-ho, Deputy Mayor of Daegu, emphasized, "The situation remains severe with the spread centered around Seoul and the metropolitan area, so we ask citizens to voluntarily participate in social distancing and quarantine measures," and added, "Daegu City will further strengthen quarantine measures such as operating thermal imaging cameras at terminals and railway stations to block the spread routes and prevent the inflow of infection sources."

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