Gangnam-gu Conducts Special On-site Inspections of 254 Locations Including Large Local Stores, Specialty Sales Businesses, and Call Centers

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] The number of people vaccinated against COVID-19 in the United States has surpassed 30 million.

In the past week, the daily average number of vaccinations exceeded 1.3 million, and if this pace continues, it is expected that 75% of the entire U.S. population will be vaccinated by the end of the year.

The U.S. rapid vaccination drive seems inseparable from the impact of variant viruses.

Following reports that the UK variant is spreading rapidly, doubling every ten days, about 700 variant infections have been confirmed in 33 states so far.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has also warned that "if a highly contagious variant becomes the dominant strain, the herd immunity threshold will rise to 80-85%."

Countries worldwide are also waging full-scale battles against variant viruses. Although 12 million people in the UK have already received their first vaccine dose, the spread of variants is causing difficulties.

The UK government has announced plans to administer a third dose with an updated vaccine this fall. Japan, which will begin vaccinating 10,000 healthcare workers on the 17th, has also confirmed suspected cluster infections of variant viruses in some regions.

India, which produces about 60% of the world's vaccines, has decided to supply seven additional domestically produced vaccines to accelerate vaccination speed.

As of midnight on the 9th, South Korea recorded 303 new confirmed cases. Although this is an increase from the 200-level cases on the 8th after 77 days, the average daily new cases over the past week (February 2?8) was 383, a decrease from the previous week's 400-level cases.

On the 9th, Seoul reported 86 new confirmed cases, marking double digits for the first time in 83 days since November 17 last year, when there were 92 cases. The key indicator for adjusting social distancing levels, the number of locally transmitted cases, also dropped to an average of 352 per day, maintaining the level 2 range (over 300 nationwide). However, with the Lunar New Year holiday approaching, the reproduction number, which had dropped to 0.79 a month ago, is nearing 1, and the variant virus remains a variable, so the situation cannot be considered safe.

Meanwhile, the government announced that 750,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine will arrive in the country starting on the 24th. Additionally, to prepare for uncertain vaccine supply situations, the government is also considering introducing the Russian vaccine. While some express concerns that vaccine effectiveness may decrease against variant virus infections, experts analyze that "it will still be effective."

Gangnam-gu is aligning with government policies and plans to establish two vaccination centers in the district to ensure rapid and smooth free vaccinations. Initially, Daejin Gymnasium was considered as a site, but due to complaints about inconvenience to residents, a third location is being sought.

Additionally, Gangnam-gu has formed a special task force to prepare detailed guidelines for vaccine supply and management and to promptly respond to adverse reactions.

Now, let me share the COVID-19 status and key policies in Gangnam-gu.

As of the 9th, cases have reached number 1217. Case 1216 was confirmed with fever symptoms, and case 1217 was confirmed after contact with a confirmed case from another region. Cases 1214 and 1215 showed no particular symptoms but tested positive and are currently under epidemiological investigation.

As of the 9th, Gangnam-gu is managing 1,179 people in self-quarantine, of whom 875 are overseas arrivals and 304 are domestic contacts.

The cumulative number of specimen tests conducted at Gangnam-gu Public Health Center's screening clinics and temporary screening sites is 194,390. Among 1,779 tested the previous day, 71 were overseas arrivals and 1,708 were domestic residents.

The Lunar New Year holiday is just two days away. Even if people gather, it is a holiday where meetings should be limited to four people or fewer. Online, methods for safely spending the holiday, such as visiting hometowns in staggered times or by order, are being shared, but residents are urged to heed the quarantine authorities' warning that "movement itself is a risk factor" and to refrain from visiting hometowns or traveling as much as possible.

Quarantine authorities also warn that COVID-19 infections in the metropolitan area could explode at any time. In fact, last week (January 31?February 6), Seoul's average daily new confirmed cases rose to 144 from 114.7 the previous week. Although cases with unknown infection routes decreased from 27.8% to 23.7% two weeks ago, asymptomatic cases increased by 1.4 percentage points to 41.9% from 40.5%. The reproduction number (R) had been below 1 for a month but rose to 1.02 last week.

At times like this, proactive specimen testing based on the infectious disease response principle of "early detection, early containment" is crucial. Gangnam-gu Public Health Center will operate from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. during this holiday, and the temporary screening site will operate from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Residents in Gangnam during the holiday are encouraged to visit the temporary screening site or Gangnam-gu Public Health Center for testing if they experience any symptoms.

The government emphasizes thorough quarantine management of traditional markets, department stores, and other retail stores expected to be crowded during the Lunar New Year. Residents are urged to strictly follow quarantine rules when using traditional markets. In this regard, Gangnam-gu will conduct special on-site inspections of 254 locations, including large stores, specialty sales businesses, and call centers, within the district until the 14th.

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