Gwangju Seo-gu's All Departments Collaborate to Prevent COVID-19 Spread

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in Seo-gu, Gwangju, where the largest entertainment facilities in the Gwangju area are concentrated, are drawing attention.

According to Seo-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City, as of the 7th, 463 confirmed cases have occurred in Seo-gu, about 10,000 people have been self-quarantined, and approximately 150,000 citizens have undergone testing or consultations.

Seo-gu is home to the Sangmu district, where Gwangju's largest entertainment facilities are concentrated. In addition, there are many facilities used by numerous citizens at once, including the comprehensive bus terminal, Shinsegae Department Store, religious facilities, and sports and exercise facilities.

Seo-gu office employees, after finishing their primary duties on weekday evenings, visit restaurants and bars, and on Wednesdays and Sundays, they go on other work trips to religious facilities and wedding halls.

This is to check whether social distancing and quarantine guidelines to prevent the spread of COVID-19 are being followed.

As a result, they have long forgotten several holiday breaks as well as weekends and public holidays.

The Safety General Division has formed a Disaster Safety Countermeasures Headquarters since January 29 last year and attends daily video meetings of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCH). They share real-time key situations, oversee daily situation reports, and have been operating a thermal scanner at the arrival platform of the U-Square Bus Terminal since February last year.

They work emergency shifts until 10 p.m. on weekdays and until 6 p.m. on weekends and public holidays, providing guidance on compliance with quarantine rules during various gatherings, events, and meetings, conducting public awareness campaigns, and inspecting violations such as the ban on private gatherings of five or more people, responding to various civil complaints.

The Public Health Center, centered on the Health Administration Division and Infectious Disease Control Division, operates screening clinics continuously, conducting hundreds of COVID-19 tests daily.

They are fully committed to telephone consultations, tracing confirmed patients' movements and conducting disinfection, managing self-quarantined individuals through self-isolation and surprise inspections of close contacts, and providing living expense support.

Since February 26, vaccinations with the AstraZeneca vaccine have been administered to nursing hospitals, nursing facilities, and high-risk medical institutions. Of the 5,687 eligible recipients, 5,573 have been vaccinated, achieving a vaccination rate of 97.99% (as of April 6).

Since the 1st of this month, a vaccination center has been established at Yeomju Gymnasium to administer the Pfizer vaccine to elderly facilities and seniors aged 75 and older.

In the second quarter, vaccinations will be sequentially administered to residents and workers of COVID-19 vulnerable facilities, seniors aged 65 to 74, school and care workers, chronic disease patients, healthcare workers, and essential social workers.

With the operation of the vaccination center, the Resident Autonomy Division and each neighborhood office are collecting consent forms, selecting eligible recipients aged 75 and older, and supporting transportation. They are also monitoring adverse reactions, focusing on elderly living alone.

The Culture and Arts Division has 40 to 50 employees working weekends without rest to inspect quarantine rules at 883 religious and cultural facilities during weekends when worship services are held.

Separate inspection teams have been formed for cultural facilities such as karaoke rooms, PC rooms, and arcades to conduct core quarantine rule inspections and guidance day and night.

The Sports and Tourism Division conducts weekly guidance and inspections on compliance with quarantine rules at 465 private sports facilities (such as gyms) in the district and encourages facility managers to comply with quarantine rules through text messages and official documents.

The Health and Hygiene Division is also fully committed. They inspect and manage over 7,000 facilities, including entertainment venues, restaurants, cafes, and beauty salons, requiring even greater effort.

They continuously provide guidance on compliance with quarantine rules, check adherence, and strongly enforce administrative measures and confirmation requests for violating businesses.

The Women and Family Division has inspected 422 cases of wedding hall quarantine rules at 11 wedding halls in the district and has provided quarantine guidelines to 211 daycare centers to prevent infectious diseases.

The Aging Society Policy Division regularly inspects quarantine rule compliance at five funeral halls and thoroughly checks quarantine rule adherence and closure status at 275 elderly welfare facilities vulnerable to COVID-19, striving to prevent the spread of infectious diseases.

Each department also supports their respective areas.

The Culture and Economy Bureau and the Autonomous Administration Bureau support religious and sports facilities; the Integrated Care Division and the Disability Hope Welfare Division support wedding halls; the Welfare and Education Bureau and the Safety City Bureau support delivery of daily necessities kits to self-quarantined individuals; and the Public Relations Office and the Environment and Transportation Bureau support tracing confirmed patients' movements and screening clinic operations.

Thus, all Seo-gu office employees are fully committed to preventing the spread of COVID-19 by carrying out related duties and managing facilities to prevent community infectious disease spread.

In the early days of inspections and crackdowns, it was common to hear verbal abuse from business owners or religious facility officials, and they even had to endure physical altercations.

Management of self-quarantined individuals is especially challenging. They face personal complaints such as requests for quarantine release due to leaving the quarantine area, visiting dying parents, walking pets, and purchasing preferred foods.

However, officials explain that what allowed them to return to the field was the understanding and encouragement from citizens over time.

A religious facility official said, “At first, we disliked Seo-gu office officials coming because it felt like an infringement on religious freedom, but seeing their hard work without holidays for the health of citizens made us feel grateful. Because of them, there seem to be almost no confirmed cases compared to other regions,” expressing gratitude and comfort.

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