Eunpyeong-gu Reports Zero COVID-19 Cases for Two Consecutive Days

Anonymous Residents Voluntarily Donate Health Drinks and Hot Packs... Eunpyeong-gu Records Zero COVID-19 Cases for Two Consecutive Days

Kim Mi-kyung, Mayor of Eunpyeong-gu, visited the Bulgwangcheon temporary screening center to encourage the staff (right)

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Every day at 9 a.m., a line of residents waiting to get tested for COVID-19 forms early in the morning at the temporary screening clinic set up under Eunpyeongchundang (Senior Citizens’ Rest Area) by Bulgwangcheon in Eunpyeong-gu. Residents, somewhat nervous about their first COVID-19 test, safely complete the procedure with the kind guidance of public officials.

There are two temporary screening clinics in Eunpyeong: one under Bulgwangcheon at Eunpyeongchundang and another near the Meeting Plaza at Exit 1 of Gupabal Station. As of February 1, a total of 32,919 specimens have been tested at these locations alone. The total number of COVID-19 tests conducted in Eunpyeong as of February 1 is 105,723, so a significant portion of testing is done at the temporary screening clinics. In fact, since operations began on December 16 last year, the Eunpyeong temporary screening clinics have identified 98 confirmed cases.

Besides the medical personnel collecting specimens, public officials from the district office and community service centers are dispatched to support operations at the Eunpyeong temporary screening clinics.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, district office public officials have been comprehensively assigned to related tasks such as telephone consultations, disaster safety situation rooms, quarantine management, and management of residential treatment centers.

On the afternoon of the 1st, residents visiting the Bulgwangcheon temporary screening clinic receive tests anonymously and conveniently. One resident left a box of health drinks, thanking the public officials for their hard work, and then quietly left. The temporary screening clinic becomes a space where public officials working on testing and residents getting tested exchange silent looks of encouragement, united in the hope of ending COVID-19 quickly.

Specimen testing primarily uses nasopharyngeal swab PCR tests. This test, which delivers results within 1 to 2 days, is the one most residents receive. Occasionally, for workers at local facilities who need faster results, rapid antigen tests are conducted under medical staff’s judgment. These tests provide results within 2 hours but are less accurate than PCR tests.

As of midnight on February 1, the nationwide number of new confirmed cases was 305. Among the various factors contributing to the gradual decrease in cases, the proactive testing at temporary screening clinics conducted by autonomous districts plays a role. In Eunpyeong, zero new cases were recorded on January 31. At 5 p.m., the public officials dispatched to the temporary screening clinics leave work with light steps after closing the site.

Kim Mikyung, Mayor of Eunpyeong-gu, who visited the temporary screening clinic to offer encouragement, stated, “In Eunpyeong, we are conducting proactive quarantine measures by building a more sophisticated epidemiological system, operating residential treatment centers to secure hospital beds, and running temporary screening clinics. We will do our best to prevent the spread and end of COVID-19 by expanding epidemiological investigators, providing one-on-one customized management for confirmed cases, and utilizing psychological quarantine measures.”

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