"Welcome, Is This Your First Time Experiencing a COVID Halloween?" ... Seoul City Issues 'Gathering Ban' Warning

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] The Seoul Metropolitan Government is raising public awareness by producing posters warning of the risk of COVID-19 cluster infections ahead of Halloween on the 31st.

The four posters released by Seoul on the 28th feature Halloween symbols such as pumpkin decorations and ghost portraits, along with phrases like "Welcome. It's your first COVID Halloween, right?", "I know what you will do on October 31st," "This year, if you’re careless, it could become a truly scary festival," and "You might become a real ghost while trying to enjoy Halloween."

Witty messages such as "The moment the party starts, real horror may begin," and "This year’s Halloween, quietly without even the ghosts knowing!" all convey Seoul’s earnest request and warning to refrain from Halloween festivals or gatherings this year.

Having experienced a sharp increase in confirmed cases from the 'Itaewon club' COVID-19 outbreak in May and the second wave triggered by the August 15 Gwanghwamun rally, the city is deeply concerned that this weekend’s Halloween could lead to another surge.

A Seoul city official said, "Visual warnings like posters are more effective than verbal ones in conveying the risk," and added, "We must never let a situation like the Itaewon club cluster infection happen again, so citizens need to recognize the danger themselves and be cautious."

This is not Seoul’s first 'fear-inducing' poster campaign. In August, a poster showing a citizen wearing a mask and a patient on a ventilator with the message "Which mask will you wear? It’s too late when someone else puts it on you" emphasized the importance of mask-wearing and received great public response.

Meanwhile, Seoul views this weekend’s Halloween as a dangerous situation that could cause a large-scale cluster infection similar to the Itaewon club incident, and plans to strengthen quarantine measures and enforcement.

In particular, from 10 p.m. on the 31st to 3 a.m. the next day, a joint inspection team with the police will conduct focused checks on compliance with key quarantine rules at entertainment venues in Itaewon, Hongdae, Gangnam, and other areas. A city official emphasized, "If any violation of quarantine rules such as visitor log creation or table distancing is detected even once, the 'one-strike-out system' will be immediately applied, resulting in an immediate ban on gatherings or legal action."

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