Gangnam-gu to Conduct Intensive Inspection on Compliance with Quarantine Rules at Multi-use Facilities Such as Entertainment Venues and Academies Until the 14th

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] Gangnam-gu (District Mayor Jeong Soon-gyun) will resume operations of 167 senior welfare facilities starting this month for seniors who have been vaccinated.

The operating hours, which were previously divided into morning and afternoon sessions, will be extended to 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Additionally, customized leisure programs for seniors, which had been temporarily suspended since February last year, will be available again. Those who have received the first dose can participate in health gymnastics and yoga programs at senior centers and welfare centers, while those who have completed both doses can join singing classes and play table tennis.

The government has prepared paper or electronic certificates and stickers as proof of vaccination, which can be issued at local community service centers, Gangnam-gu Public Health Center, and vaccination centers.

In particular, vaccination stickers that can be attached to identification cards are being issued from the 1st for those who have difficulty using paper certificates or mobile phones.

Those who want the sticker can visit the nearest community service center with their resident registration card or driver's license.

The whole world is on high alert due to the ‘Delta variant.’ The World Health Organization (WHO) has assessed that the Delta variant is the most transmissible among the COVID-19 variants identified so far.

However, it added that vaccination can “prevent the spread of COVID-19 and the emergence of variants.” In fact, at a recent party in Australia attended by a Delta variant-infected person, 24 out of 30 unvaccinated attendees tested positive, while all 6 vaccinated attendees tested negative.

Meanwhile, a recent survey conducted by our government among 1,000 adults nationwide showed that 96% of the approximately 300 vaccinated respondents said they would recommend vaccination to others, and 77% of the unvaccinated respondents said they would get vaccinated.

The most common reason given was “to prevent infection caused by myself” (77%).

Vaccination is the beginning of regaining lost daily life. We ask all residents to trust the government and participate in vaccination in the designated order for the health of their loved ones.

Here is the status of confirmed cases in Gangnam-gu. As of the 2nd, there have been 3,384 confirmed cases. Cases 3,373 and 3,382 are family members of previously confirmed Gangnam-gu residents, and case 3,384 tested positive after contact with a previously confirmed Gangnam-gu resident. Cases 3,374 to 3,381 and 3,383 were confirmed after showing symptoms such as coughing, but their infection routes are unknown and epidemiological investigations are ongoing.

As of the 2nd, Gangnam-gu is managing 2,428 people in self-quarantine, including 1,373 who entered from overseas and 1,055 domestic contacts.

The cumulative number of tests conducted at Gangnam-gu Public Health Center’s screening clinics and temporary screening centers is 558,862. On the 1st, among 4,220 tested, 98 were overseas entrants and 4,122 were domestic residents.

As of midnight on the 2nd, there were 826 new domestic COVID-19 cases, the highest since January 7, with about 600 positive cases in the metropolitan area alone. Cases of the highly transmissible ‘Delta variant’ are also being confirmed one after another.

Gangnam-gu plans to focus on inspecting compliance with key quarantine rules at multi-use facilities such as entertainment establishments and academies in line with the government’s special quarantine inspection policy until the 14th.

If quarantine rules are violated during inspections, the ‘one-strike-out system’ will be applied, which includes closure orders or fines. We ask for active and voluntary cooperation from business operators.

Additionally, Gangnam-gu will install temporary screening centers in the densely packed academy area of Daechi-dong (entrance to Hanti Neighborhood Park) and near Gangnam Station, where entertainment establishments are concentrated, as it did previously by introducing free testing and smart infectious disease management centers for the first time in the country. These centers will operate jointly with Seoul City starting from the 5th.

With the recent sharp increase in confirmed cases in the area, residents may be very concerned. Gangnam-gu has environmental factors that make cluster infections inevitable, such as high population density like Manhattan in New York and a daily floating population of 1.07 million due to economic activities.

Recently, more than 3,000 tests have been conducted daily in Gangnam-gu, with about 45 new confirmed cases occurring each day. We believe that basic quarantine rule compliance and proactive testing to find ‘hidden infections’ are the best measures to prevent the spread of infectious diseases.

Residents are encouraged to get tested at temporary screening centers or Gangnam-gu Public Health Center if they experience any symptoms.

Please note that the operating hours of the Gangnam-gu Public Health Center screening clinic have changed to 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends.

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