Gwangju City Strengthens Quarantine Measures Including Gathering and Operation Bans at Some Facilities for One Week Starting the 26th

Lee Yong-seop, Mayor of Gwangju Metropolitan City, is conducting an online briefing on COVID-19 at the city hall briefing room on the afternoon of the 24th. Photo by Gwangju Metropolitan City

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Gwangju Metropolitan City has decided to strengthen quarantine rules such as gathering bans and operation bans for some facilities as there is no sign of a decrease in the spread of COVID-19.

On the 24th at 2:30 PM, Gwangju Mayor Lee Yong-seop said in a briefing to strengthen COVID-19 response, “Our city, which had maintained stability for a while, has seen an average of 12 confirmed cases per day over the past week, showing signs of developing into new group infections,” and added, “Social distancing will be maintained at level 1.5, but quarantine rules will be strengthened for facilities and activities where recent confirmed cases have occurred or that are considered high risk, from the 26th of this month to the 2nd of next month, for one week.”

First, an administrative order of ‘gathering ban’ will be issued for sports club activities related to daily sports.

▲ Operation of five types of entertainment facilities (entertainment bars, colatecs, danran bars, emotional bars, hunting pocha), as well as holdem pubs, dance halls, karaoke rooms, indoor standing concert halls, party rooms, indoor sports facilities, academies and private institutes, and bathhouses will be suspended from 11 PM to 5 AM the next day.

For restaurants and cafes, only takeout and delivery will be allowed from 11 PM to 5 AM the next day.

▲ Religious activities must be conducted with only up to 20% of seating capacity participating, including regular worship services, masses, Buddhist ceremonies, and memorial services.

In particular, exchanges and invitation events with other regions remain prohibited.

▲ Private gatherings of five or more people are also still prohibited.

Mayor Lee Yong-seop said, “We have strengthened quarantine rules only for necessary facilities to maximize the guarantee of citizens’ daily life and economic activities and minimize damage to small business owners,” but added, “If local infections continue to spread despite these strengthened measures, social distancing will be immediately raised to level 2. We ask all citizens to do their best to comply with quarantine rules so that the reality of level 2, which causes citizen inconvenience and regional economic downturn, does not occur.”

He continued, “If quarantine rules violations that threaten the safety of the Gwangju community occur, strong legal measures such as gathering bans for the relevant facilities and fines will be taken under the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act with a zero-tolerance principle,” and said, “Although it is difficult and inconvenient, we ask each citizen to spend a week without private meetings and outings to break the chain of infection so that we do not return to a more painful time.”

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