Seoul's 56 Temporary Screening Clinics to Extend Operation Until the 17th of Next Month

922 Cases Confirmed from Over 336,000 Tests by the 30th
24.2% of Cases Infected Within Families... One Person per Household Testing Campaign

On the 29th, when the number of new confirmed cases of COVID-19 increased again to over 1,000 after three days, medical staff encouraged each other at the temporary screening clinic at Seoul Station in Jung-gu, Seoul. The Central Disease Control Headquarters announced that as of midnight that day, 1,046 new domestic cases were confirmed. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] The Seoul Metropolitan Government has extended the operation period of temporary screening clinics, which are operated using major transfer subway stations and public facility parking lots, by two weeks from the original January 3rd next year to January 17th.

According to Seoul City on the 31st, from the 14th to the 30th, an average of 19,804 people per day, totaling 336,665 people, were tested at 63 temporary screening clinics in the Seoul area, among whom 922 were confirmed positive.

The city immediately isolated and treated confirmed cases to early block transmission by asymptomatic infected individuals. Also, since the temporary screening clinics have been effective in proactively blocking the spread by detecting asymptomatic confirmed cases, the city proposed a two-week extension plan to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters.

However, to reduce the fatigue of medical staff due to the extended operation, 9 of the existing 63 clinics will be consolidated and operated with nearby clinics. Additionally, two more clinics will be added in the Gangnam area where testing demand is high, and operating hours of some clinics have been adjusted, such as opening only in the morning on weekends.

Seoul City also plans to conduct a 'One Person per Household' testing campaign to prevent family infections, which recently accounted for 24.2% of confirmed cases, as much as possible in advance. Regardless of blood relation, if a household shares residence and livelihood, one member will representatively get tested to check for family infections in advance.

Kim Tae-gyun, Director of the Seoul City Administration Bureau, said, "One out of three recent confirmed cases (33.9%) are asymptomatic infections, and the most effective way to suppress this is voluntary testing participation by citizens," adding, "For the sake of your precious family, please visit a nearby temporary screening clinic and get tested as at least one person per household."

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