Incheon City Conducts Comprehensive Testing at 627 Facilities Including Nursing Homes... 'Family Unit Testing' Campaign

A nursing facility user is undergoing a COVID-19 diagnostic test.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] Incheon City will conduct comprehensive COVID-19 testing on all workers and users of nursing homes and day care centers in the region until the 26th.

This is the second comprehensive testing following the one conducted last October. It is a proactive measure to protect high-risk facilities and vulnerable groups from asymptomatic infections (silent transmission) amid sporadic cluster infections of COVID-19.

In the previous comprehensive testing, 23,315 people including workers at elderly nursing facilities, nursing hospitals, psychiatric hospitals, and users and workers of elderly day care centers were tested, all of whom tested negative.

This time, the testing targets include about 8,900 workers at 421 elderly nursing homes, about 1,800 workers at 206 day care centers, and about 3,800 users. Nursing home residents are excluded from testing as they do not go out or move externally.

Workers at elderly nursing homes will visit screening clinics at each district and county public health center for specimen collection and testing, while nursing staff specially assigned will visit day care centers to conduct tests on site.

Additionally, the city is launching a "Get Tested as a Family" campaign in response to the recent increase in small-scale family cluster infections. It also encourages active testing for friends, acquaintances, and workers in enclosed, close-contact, and crowded facilities such as call centers.

Meanwhile, according to the government's COVID-19 response guidelines, anyone can receive free COVID-19 diagnostic testing regardless of epidemiological links or symptoms during social distancing level 2 or higher (or during separately announced periods).

In Incheon, 31 screening clinics are operating, including 21 medical institutions and 10 public health centers in each district and county. Additionally, 10 temporary screening clinics have been set up, one in each district and county, including Bupyeong Station, Juan Station, and Dongincheon Station.

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