Gwangju City, Complete Ban on Community Sports Clubs and Group Sports Activities Starting from the 2nd

Emergency Orders Issued for Public Officials as Well

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Gwangju Metropolitan City will maintain the COVID-19 response level at 1.5 starting from the 1st, while strengthening quarantine measures, and from the 2nd, all sports-related activities will be completely banned.

An emergency order has also been issued for public officials.

On the 30th of last month, with as many as 22 confirmed COVID-19 cases occurring in the Gwangju area, the city judged the situation to be a maximum crisis.

At 11 a.m. that day, Mayor Lee Yong-seop of Gwangju Metropolitan City held an online briefing regarding the COVID-19 response and stated, “Infections are spreading continuously through contact among acquaintances and family, club activities, and crowded places such as restaurants and churches, and are sporadically spreading to workplaces, schools, and hospitals. Therefore, there is an increasing need to strengthen quarantine measures much more than now.”

Accordingly, from midnight on the 2nd, the city will completely ban activities of community sports clubs and group sports activities, which have recently become the epicenter of infection spread.

For all public officials in the Gwangju area, the COVID-19 emergency order includes a complete ban on attending all private gatherings such as alumni meetings, clubs, various meetings, and dinners ▲ postponing or conducting public meetings or gatherings with many attendees online ▲ banning visits to weddings, funerals, and 3Cs (crowded, closed, close-contact) places ▲ department heads are to refrain from business trips and implement more than 20% telecommuting to reduce density ▲ mandatory mask-wearing is to be strictly enforced with effective measures for fines.

Regarding the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) to be held on the 3rd, the screening clinics within five public health centers in the jurisdiction will operate until 10 p.m., four hours longer than usual, on the 2nd, the day before the exam.

The Gwangju Health and Environment Research Institute will also operate a 24-hour testing system on the 2nd and 3rd to promptly deliver test results.

On the exam day, the 3rd, testing sites for those in self-quarantine have been prepared at Gwangju Inseong High School and Songwon Girls' High School, and eight hospital beds have been arranged at Bitgoeul Jeonnam National University Hospital for confirmed patients. Examinees showing symptoms on the exam day can take the test in separate rooms at general test sites.

Mayor Lee Yong-seop recognized the current situation and proposed five behavioral guidelines to citizens.

▲ Engage only in the minimum economic activities necessary to maintain daily life. ▲ Do not meet or gather with outsiders other than family and workplace. (Examinees should meet friends ‘remotely’ after the CSAT.) ▲ Always wear a mask when talking; when eating without a mask, do so silently. ▲ Spend this year’s year-end at home with family without ‘external gatherings.’ ▲ If you feel unwell, do not hesitate and immediately visit a screening clinic.

Mayor Lee said, “The only way to break the chain of local COVID-19 infection spread is for each citizen to change their thoughts and actions and strictly follow quarantine rules,” and added, “We ask for your active cooperation and participation.”

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