Jeonnam Province Appeals "Please Get Diagnostic Testing When Cold-Like Symptoms Appear"

7 Confirmed Cases Among 7 Financial Institution Workers Since the 7th

Suncheon City Considers Raising Social Distancing to Level 1.5

[Muan=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Jeonnam Province announced on the 10th through a ‘Provincial Appeal’ that if you have cold-like symptoms such as fever, sore throat, or respiratory symptoms, please visit the nearest public health center immediately to receive medical treatment or diagnostic testing.

This is in response to the continuous occurrence of COVID-19 confirmed cases in the Jeonnam area recently.

From the 7th of this month until now, 8 COVID-19 confirmed cases (7 local infections and 1 imported case) have been reported in the Jeonnam region.

On the 7th, person A residing in Yeosu, Jeonnam, tested positive for COVID-19 after undergoing testing in the Gwangju area, and subsequently, confirmed cases numbered 192 to 195 in Jeonnam, who had contact with person A, were confirmed one after another.

Additionally, a resident of Suncheon City with an unclear infection route was confirmed positive the day before and classified as case number 196 in Jeonnam, and on the same day, person B (case 197) residing in Suncheon and their acquaintance person C (case 198) were additionally confirmed positive.

Case 197 works at the Nonghyup Bank in Gwangyang City and began experiencing fever and headache symptoms from the 8th, leading to testing. Since the 7th, confirmed cases have been occurring mainly around financial institutions.

In particular, case 198, a high school teacher in Gwangyang City, was confirmed to have conducted after-school classes attended by three first-year classes and some students, as well as elective classes for two second-year classes before testing positive.

Accordingly, the school sent all students home the day before, conducted emergency disinfection, and switched all first-year classes to remote learning until the 23rd. Second- and third-year students attended regular in-person classes, and some students who had contact with the confirmed case were placed under self-quarantine.

Case 198 also visited fitness centers and bowling alleys in Suncheon, raising serious concerns about potential secondary and tertiary infections.

Therefore, the province is expanding diagnostic testing not only to close contacts but also to people who visited facilities where confirmed cases had been, to quickly block local transmission.

Facilities such as fitness centers and bowling alleys, where confirmed cases visited and where there is concern about spread, were immediately closed and disinfected.

Since the day before, testing has been conducted on a total of 663 people, including 29 related to the Nonghyup Bank in Gwangyang City, 542 students and staff at the high school where case 198 worked, and 92 contacts from fitness centers, bowling alleys, and restaurants. So far, 29 have tested negative.

Testing for the remaining 634 people is planned to be completed within the day.

Accordingly, the province will raise the social distancing level in Suncheon City to Level 1.5 starting from the 11th.

Dancing is prohibited in entertainment facilities (5 types) such as clubs, and direct sales promotion centers like door-to-door sales must cease operations after 9 p.m. Restaurants and cafes larger than 50㎡ (15 pyeong) must maintain a 1-meter distance between seats and install partitions.

In general management facilities (14 types) such as wedding halls, funeral homes, and academies, the number of users is limited to one person per 4㎡, and seats must be spaced apart between different groups.

Events such as gatherings and festivals are limited to fewer than 100 people, and regular worship services, masses, Buddhist ceremonies, and memorial services are restricted to 30% of seating capacity, with gatherings and meals prohibited.

Song Sangrak, Vice Governor of Jeonnam Province, said, “Please refrain from visiting the metropolitan area or regions where confirmed cases have recently occurred, and minimize contact with outsiders visiting Jeonnam. Until COVID-19 is under control, please refrain from events and gatherings and wear masks both indoors and outdoors.”

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