Jinju City COVID-19 Confirmed Cases 'Highest Level City' Claim Is Inaccurate

Ranked 35th in COVID-19 cases per capita among 226 local governments nationwide

Inspection site of multi-use facilities
[Image source=Jinju-si]

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Choi Soon-kyung] Contrary to recent reports by some media outlets claiming that Jinju-si has the highest ratio of confirmed COVID-19 cases relative to its population among basic local governments nationwide, this is not true.

Based on confirmed case statistics as of May 11, the city explained that the ratio of confirmed cases to the population is 0.35%, ranking 35th among 226 basic local governments nationwide.

Accordingly, the city stated that the term "top city" is incorrect and that such expressions damage the honor of Jinju citizens and the quarantine workers who are working hard on the front lines.

Although the city is not ranked highest nationwide, as of May 14, the number of COVID-19 confirmed cases in the city is 1,232, which is indeed the highest in Gyeongnam Province.

As the number of confirmed cases is high, the number of violations of the ban on gatherings of five or more people is also 70 cases, accounting for 38% of the total 186 cases in the province. This is more than three times the number in Changwon, which has the largest population in the province (18 cases).

At a consulting session hosted by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency on April 28, a quarantine official mentioned, "In old cities, social networks are complex and diverse, making infection control very difficult."

One example is the cluster infection at a food factory in Tongyeong, where 38 confirmed cases occurred since April. Although workers from Jinju and Tongyeong worked at the same factory, no confirmed cases emerged among workers residing in Tongyeong, while only workers residing in Jinju were confirmed positive.

The background behind only Jinju residents being infected in the same work environment suggests that the unique social nature of an old city?characterized by sociability and a culture of chatting?may have contributed to the cluster infection.

The city promoted the "Jinju Citizens Pause for a Moment" campaign until May 10. Although the campaign period has ended, at this point where there is no COVID-19 treatment, the best quarantine measure is "each citizen's adherence to quarantine rules," and the city is appealing to citizens to comply with the quarantine guidelines.

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