Gwangju City Raises Social Distancing to Level 2 from the 15th to the 25th

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Social distancing in the Gwangju area will be raised to Level 2.

Gwangju City announced on the 13th that it will raise the quarantine level to social distancing Level 2 from the 15th to the 25th.

The number of confirmed cases nationwide has exceeded 1,000 per day for a week, and in the Gwangju area, double-digit confirmed cases have occurred for 11 consecutive days since the 9th, creating a very unstable situation.

Among the confirmed cases this month, 54% (56 out of 103) were confirmed to be infected through infection routes from other regions, including the Seoul metropolitan area such as a golf meeting in Gyeonggi-do, a restaurant in Mapo-gu, Seoul, and an English academy in Gyeonggi-do.

The city of Gwangju judged that confirmed cases are rapidly increasing mainly among young and middle-aged people who have not yet been vaccinated, and the rapid spread of the highly transmissible Delta variant is threatening the safety of our community.

From the 15th, private gatherings will still be allowed up to 8 people, but all events and assemblies will be limited to fewer than 100 people.

Wedding halls and funeral halls will also limit the number of people per individual hall to fewer than 100, and the incentive that exempted vaccinated people from private gathering limits will be postponed. International conferences and academic events must maintain two-seat spacing or 2-meter distancing between seats.

Six types of entertainment facilities (entertainment bars, danran bars, emotional pubs, colatechs including dance halls, hunting pochas, hold'em pubs) and coin karaoke rooms are prohibited from operating from midnight to 5 a.m., and even during operating hours, the number of people is limited to one per 8㎡ (for clubs, nightclubs, colatechs, and dance halls, one per 10㎡).

Cafes and restaurants are only allowed takeout and delivery from midnight to 5 a.m. Stores, marts, and department stores larger than 300㎡ are prohibited from promotional tasting, providing samples that require mask removal, using rest areas, and holding customer attraction events.

Bathhouses, indoor sports facilities, direct sales promotion centers for door-to-door sales, academies, private institutes, vocational training centers, movie theaters, performance halls, hair salons, amusement parks, arcades, multi-rooms, PC rooms, sports stadiums (spectator), screen horse racing tracks, museums, art galleries, science centers, party rooms, libraries, kids cafes, first birthday party specialty stores, exhibition and fair venues, massage shops, and massage parlors will have strengthened quarantine rules such as facility area-based capacity limits, seat distancing, and facility occupancy rate restrictions.

Religious facilities will continue to allow up to 50% of their capacity, but gatherings, meals, and overnight stays are prohibited, and exchanges and invitation events with other regions are also banned. Outdoor events are allowed with fewer than 100 people.

Mayor Lee Yong-seop of Gwangju said, “If quarantine rules are violated following the upgrade to Level 2, strict measures such as business suspension and fines will be imposed based on the Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Act.”

He added, “Those who have visited the Seoul metropolitan area or other regions should get tested for COVID-19 immediately upon arrival in Gwangju,” and urged, “Please actively cooperate with quarantine rules such as wearing masks and social distancing, and COVID-19 vaccination.”

He also said, “I feel heavy-hearted thinking about the self-employed who have just begun to regain vitality,” but added, “However, if all citizens unite with one heart and effort to stabilize the COVID-19 situation quickly, greater damage and losses can be prevented.”

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