Gwangju Mayor Lee Yong-seop Urges "Visitors from the Seoul Metropolitan Area to Get Tested for COVID-19 Immediately Upon Arrival in Gwangju"

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Yoon Jamin] Lee Yong-seop, Mayor of Gwangju Metropolitan City, appealed to citizens to comply with COVID-19 prevention guidelines.

On the afternoon of the 9th, Mayor Lee held an online briefing and urged citizens who visited multi-use facilities in the Seoul metropolitan area to get tested for COVID-19 immediately upon arrival in Gwangju.

Currently, the number of confirmed cases nationwide has exceeded 1,000 for three consecutive days, and yesterday, the number of new confirmed cases reached 1,316 (including 80 imported cases), setting a new record and facing the greatest crisis.

The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters decided to raise the quarantine level in the Seoul metropolitan area, where 70-80% of confirmed cases nationwide are distributed, to level 4, the highest stage of the "new social distancing," starting from the 12th.

Mayor Lee said, "Our city is also in a critical situation that cannot be taken lightly, and we must thoroughly prepare for the fourth wave originating from the Seoul metropolitan area."

He continued, "Thanks to the active cooperation of our citizens, last month, the number of confirmed cases was the lowest among local governments nationwide, and this month, the average daily number of local infection cases has remained stable at around 3.8. However, since there is active daily interaction with the Seoul metropolitan area, and the highly transmissible Delta variant (originating from India) is spreading rapidly, if each citizen does not strictly follow the prevention guidelines, it is only a matter of time before the spread from the Seoul metropolitan area reaches our region."

Furthermore, he emphasized, "This is another emergency situation requiring proactive measures. Gwangju City will maintain the new social distancing level 1 as is and requests proactive voluntary responsibility in quarantine."

Mayor Lee first urged, "After visiting multi-use facilities in other regions, especially those with a high risk of infection such as the Seoul metropolitan area, please get tested for COVID-19 regardless of symptoms. Public institutions, companies, and each workplace should refrain from unnecessary business trips to the Seoul metropolitan area, and citizens are also asked to avoid private gatherings, outings, and visits or invitations to relatives or acquaintances in other regions as much as possible."

Secondly, he said, "Even those who have completed vaccination should wear masks indoors and outdoors until the COVID-19 situation improves. The quarantine guideline that excluded vaccinated individuals from the count of eight people in private gatherings will be postponed until a separate announcement is made."

Thirdly, he requested, "For confirmed cases with unknown infection routes, the epidemiological investigation period will be expanded to two weeks prior to the confirmation date for a wide-ranging investigation. The autonomous districts responsible for epidemiological investigations will carry this out without delay, and citizens are also asked for active cooperation."

Fourthly, he urged, "Owners and workers of entertainment facilities and singing practice rooms are once again required to undergo mandatory testing every two weeks. If this is not complied with, the facility will be suspended from operation for three weeks, and violators will be fined up to 3 million KRW without exception."

Fifthly, he stated, "If confirmed cases occur due to violations of quarantine guidelines by business owners within facilities where private gatherings of up to eight people are allowed?such as restaurants, cafes, six types of entertainment facilities, singing practice rooms, party rooms, indoor standing concert halls, indoor and outdoor sports facilities (including sports club activities), bathhouses, reading rooms, and study cafes?the facility will be ordered to suspend operations for at least three weeks under a zero-tolerance policy."

Sixthly, he emphasized, "Multi-use facilities should thoroughly ventilate and disinfect the premises and strictly manage quarantine measures such as maintaining entry logs. Especially during hot weather and the rainy season, when indoor time increases, ventilation should be frequent when using air conditioning indoors."

Lastly, he added, "Please get vaccinated according to the scheduled order without delay. Recent trends in confirmed cases show that the infection rate among those aged 60 and over, who have been largely vaccinated, has significantly decreased, while many cases are occurring among younger age groups with lower vaccination rates."

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