(Comprehensive) Wedding Postponed Due to Capacity Limits... 150m Queue at Screening Clinics [Daily Life Disrupted by COVID-19]

Around 12:30 PM on the 12th, citizens are waiting to get tested at the parking lot of Gangnam-gu Public Health Center in Seoul. Photo by Lee Jung-yoon leejuyoo@

[Asia Economy Reporters Donghoon Jeong, Seungyoon Song, Jeongyun Lee] "I thought the guest limit would be lifted, but even my friends can't come. The wedding is less than three weeks away, and I feel like I've been hit by a bolt from the blue."

Yoon Seol-ah (32), who is getting married on the 24th of this month, is in panic. Due to the implementation of Level 4 social distancing in the metropolitan area, only up to 49 relatives can attend the wedding. Yoon said, "Even just counting relatives from both sides, the number will easily exceed 49, so I have no idea who to invite." Jang Ji-ho (30), who is scheduled to marry next month, is thinking of postponing the wedding until next year. The situation two weeks later is uncertain, and the wedding hall informed him that if he pays several million won in advance for the venue rental, he can postpone it.

Jang said, "I ended up postponing the wedding because I don't think COVID-19 will end this year," adding, "I don't want to finish my one and only wedding in tears." Some wedding companies struggling due to COVID-19 say cancellations or postponements are difficult. A wedding hall located in Gangnam, Seoul, said, "Due to strengthened social distancing, we are settling based on 100 guests for the meal. Forty-nine people will have the meal, and the remaining 51 will receive return gifts. We have no choice but to proceed this way."

Parents are also very worried. Metropolitan area daycare centers have been completely closed since the 12th, and from the 14th, kindergartens and schools will switch to remote classes. Dual-income families have no choice but to take annual leave or family care leave unless they get help from grandparents or others. Daycare centers and kindergartens are not safe from COVID-19, so using emergency childcare is also uneasy. From the last week of July, most daycare centers and kindergartens will start their vacations, so parents will have to take care of their children at home for nearly a month.

People continue to visit screening clinics to get tested for COVID-19. Especially after more than 100 cumulative confirmed cases occurred at Hyundai Department Store Trade Center Branch, screening clinics near Gangnam were very crowded. Around 12:00 PM on the 12th, at the permanent screening clinic set up at Gangnam-gu Public Health Center in Seoul, people had to wait at least 2 hours and 30 minutes to get tested. Jeong (28), who works at Hyundai Department Store Trade Center Branch, said, "I arrived at 10:10 AM but could only get tested at 12:50 PM."

A Gangnam-gu Public Health Center official explained, "Testing starts at 9 AM, but some office workers start waiting two hours earlier," adding, "Testing is conducted without lunch breaks, and the waiting area only becomes less crowded around 8 PM." At a similar time, a long line formed at the permanent screening clinic located at Seocho-gu Public Health Center. Hundreds of people wanted to get tested there as well, and the line stretched about 150 meters. A Seocho-gu Public Health Center official said, "You have to wait about two hours to get tested," adding, "Still, today the number of people waiting is less than on weekdays last week."

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