Changwon, Hadong, and Sacheon Designated as 'Precision Quarantine Areas' Amid Surge in Cluster Infections

Two students attending Jangcheon Elementary School in Jinhae-gu, Changwon City, tested positive for the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19). In response, health authorities have set up a screening clinic at Jangcheon Elementary School and are conducting tests by classifying contacts and individuals exposed to the movement paths. Photo by Joo Cheol-in lx906@

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Ju Cheol-in] Recently, three locations in Gyeongnam?Changwon City, Sacheon City, and Hadong County?where new coronavirus infection (COVID-19) cases have surged, have been selected as precision quarantine support areas.

On the 20th, Gyeongnam Province announced in a COVID-19 response briefing that Changwon City and Hadong County, which raised their social distancing level to 1.5 due to a rapid increase in confirmed cases, and Sacheon City, where local infections spread from elderly couple cases, were recognized as needing focused management and were selected by the Disease Control Agency as precision quarantine support areas.

With the designation of these three cities and counties as precision quarantine support areas, they will receive intensive COVID-19 prevention education, strengthened quarantine monitoring and inspection, and support for necessary costs and manpower for two weeks.

The scope of testing for individuals with fever or respiratory symptoms will be expanded. Proactive testing will be conducted in high-risk facilities and groups within the region to identify risk factors as quickly as possible. For infection-vulnerable and high-risk facilities, joint inspection teams will be formed to strengthen quarantine inspections.

Previously, the provincial Infectious Disease Management Support Group and the Gyeongnam Disease Response Center dispatched specialized personnel necessary for epidemiological investigations and quarantine, including immediate response teams, to these areas.

Governor Kim Kyung-soo held a COVID-19 response city and county inspection meeting on the day and requested the cities and counties to "raise the level of quarantine measures further." He also repeatedly urged residents to minimize gatherings and comply with daily quarantine rules.

In Gyeongnam, 59 confirmed cases occurred in a cluster over three days centered on Jinhae-gu in Changwon and Hadong: 9 on the 17th, 27 on the 18th, 18 on the 19th, and 5 by the morning of the 20th.

In Jinhae-gu, Changwon, five additional cases occurred, including a naval family cluster infection involving two elementary school students.

Provincial spokesperson Kim Myung-seop said, "Looking at recent confirmed cases in the province, infections that started from family gatherings, ancestral rites and grave visits, wedding halls, senior centers, saunas, and schools are spreading," adding, "Especially, gatherings involving meals are the main cause, so we ask people to refrain from various gatherings for the time being and, if unavoidable, to avoid eating during gatherings."

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