Seongnam City Issues Administrative Order for 67 Bathhouse Workers to Comply with Diagnostic Testing

[Asia Economy (Seongnam) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Seongnam City in Gyeonggi Province has issued an administrative order on the 18th requiring bathhouse workers to undergo diagnostic testing.

Accordingly, 67 bathhouse workers (including auxiliary facilities) in the Seongnam area must receive a COVID-19 diagnostic test at a temporary screening clinic by the 28th.

However, those who have undergone a COVID-19 diagnostic test since the 4th of this month and show no symptoms are considered to have complied with the administrative order. If symptoms appear, they must undergo testing again.

This is a preemptive measure following recent nationwide cluster infections in bathhouses.

The city stated that violators will be fined up to 2 million KRW under the "Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Act" and may also be held liable for costs incurred due to the spread of infectious diseases caused by the violation.

Since the 15th, the city has also been conducting a special inspection of all bathhouses in the area until the 26th.

This follows changes in quarantine guidelines for bathhouses due to the extension of social distancing in the metropolitan area, including "business suspension after 10 PM" and "sauna, hanjeungmak, and jjimjil facilities can be used if users maintain at least 1 meter distance."

A city official urged, "This administrative order is a measure to proactively block the spread of infection and minimize citizen damage, so bathhouse workers (including auxiliary facilities) are requested to get a COVID-19 diagnostic test as soon as possible."

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