Gathering Ban on Entertainment Venues and Singing Practice Rooms in Gwangju Area from July 31 to August 8

Announcement of Public-Private Countermeasure Committee Meeting Results... Average Daily Confirmed Cases Surge to 25.7

Restaurants and Cafes Allowed Takeout and Delivery Only from 10 PM to 5 AM Next Day

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Gwangju Metropolitan City has issued an administrative order banning gatherings at entertainment facilities and coin karaoke practice rooms from the 31st of this month to the 8th of next month.

On the 29th, Gwangju announced the results of the meeting of the Public-Private Joint Countermeasures Committee and stated that from July 31 to August 8, gatherings will be prohibited at entertainment facilities such as entertainment bars, danran bars, emotional pubs, colatecs (including dance halls), hunting pochas, and holdem pubs, as well as coin karaoke practice rooms.

In addition, indoor sports facilities, where many young people have recently tested positive, will be prohibited from operating from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. the next day during the same period.

Furthermore, on-site inspections of quarantine rules will be further strengthened for multi-use facilities mainly used by people in their 20s and 30s.

For restaurants and cafes, including hof houses, only takeout and delivery will be allowed from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. the next day.

If quarantine rules are violated, the facility will be suspended from operation for 10 days without warning according to the Infectious Disease Control Act. If confirmed cases occur due to violations of quarantine rules at the facility, a three-week suspension will be imposed, and both the business operator and facility users will be subject to prosecution.

Mayor Lee Yong-seop of Gwangju said, “We are well aware that the more quarantine rules are strengthened, the more the pain of self-employed people multiplies. However, due to the highly transmissible Delta variant virus, the infection rate is increasing very rapidly, so we made this decision with an urgent determination to protect the safety of the community.”

Currently, Gwangju has reported 39 confirmed COVID-19 cases the previous day, and as of 2 p.m. on the same day, 18 new cases have been confirmed.

This is the highest number in six months since the cluster infection at TCS International School on January 28.

During the past week (from the 18th to the 24th), the average daily number of locally transmitted confirmed cases was 14.1, but after the 25th, the number of confirmed cases surged to 17 → 22 → 25 → 39, raising the daily average to about 25.7, nearly doubling.

In particular, COVID-19 is spreading very sporadically through family and acquaintances, and more than half of the confirmed cases are young people in their 20s and 30s. They tend to be more active and mostly unvaccinated, posing a high risk of infection spread.

As the summer vacation season begins in earnest, cases of confirmed infections due to visits to other regions or contact with residents from other regions are also increasing.

The mayor appealed, “We will actively consider additional operation of screening clinics so that citizens do not experience inconvenience in getting COVID-19 tests,” and urged, “Please maintain the highest level of vigilance and become the main agents of voluntary and responsible quarantine.”

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