Jeonnam Province Prepares Comprehensive Measures for a Safe Chuseok Holiday

Operation of Comprehensive Situation Room until 22nd... Strengthening COVID-19 Quarantine System

Designation of Opening Hospitals and Pharmacies... Special Transportation Measures and Wildfire Prevention Operations

[Muan=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Jeonnam Province has established a comprehensive plan to ensure that residents have a safe and warm Chuseok holiday during the upcoming holiday period.

The province announced on the 16th that it will operate a Chuseok comprehensive situation room composed of 11 task forces until the 22nd.

The focus is on preventing the spread of COVID-19 in the community during the Chuseok holiday, when population movement is high.

During the holiday period, 47 screening clinics, 4 infectious disease dedicated hospitals, and 2 living treatment centers will be operated within the province to actively respond to COVID-19 prevention measures.

To prepare for emergency patients, the province and each city and county will operate emergency medical situation rooms, and 38 emergency medical institutions, 22 public health centers, holiday duty pharmacies, and regional emergency medical centers will be operated as emergency medical institutions.

Emergency medical dedicated helicopters will also be operated to ensure rapid transport in vulnerable island areas, among other emergency medical measures.

Through special Chuseok traffic measures, disinfection in public transportation sectors such as terminals, buses, and taxis will be strengthened, and traffic inconvenience reports and traffic accidents will be promptly addressed.

To stabilize prices, efforts will be made to protect the livelihood of ordinary citizens by inspecting compliance with origin labeling and cracking down on unfair trade practices.

In particular, to prevent various disasters and accidents and to respond quickly in emergencies, the provincial disaster situation room and the 119 comprehensive situation room will operate 24 hours a day. Safety inspections of 126 multi-use facilities including comprehensive passenger facilities, performance venues, and sales facilities have all been completed for preemptive safety management.

◆ Strengthening COVID-19 Prevention System

A COVID-19 emergency prevention system will be activated during the Chuseok holiday to preemptively block the spread of infection.

The COVID-19 emergency response headquarters will be maintained 24 hours a day during the holiday period, continuously monitoring the COVID-19 situation in the province. A rapid response team will be urgently deployed to support the field in case of emergencies.

Temporary screening clinics will be operated to strengthen proactive testing. Eight locations will be set up at KTX stations and highway rest areas with high foot traffic within the province, with about 10 health workers stationed at each site providing free diagnostic tests.

Eight joint infectious disease dedicated hospitals in Jeonnam and Gwangju and two living treatment centers in Jeonnam will also be operated continuously to prevent medical service gaps during the holiday period.

◆ Full-scale Emergency Medical Services at Medical Institutions

To minimize inconvenience in medical service use for residents, hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies that will be open during the holiday have been designated. A total of 2,146 institutions, including 1,108 hospitals and clinics, 757 pharmacies, and 281 health institutions in the province, will participate during the holiday period.

For emergency patient treatment, 51 emergency medical institutions and facilities, including Mokpo Hanguk Hospital and Suncheon St. Carollo Hospital, will operate 24 hours a day.

Jeonnam Province plans to post information about on-duty medical institutions and holiday duty pharmacies on the provincial website, city and county public health center websites, and emergency medical portals so that residents can receive medical services with peace of mind during the Chuseok holiday.

To prepare for large-scale patient occurrences, the province and 22 cities and counties have established and operate their own emergency medical situation rooms and maintain an emergency communication system between regional emergency medical centers and emergency medical institutions.

Doctor helicopters will operate normally to provide rapid emergency treatment and transport in vulnerable areas such as islands.

Screening clinics will continue to operate to respond to COVID-19 patient occurrences during the holiday period.

Information on hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, and screening clinics open during the holiday can be obtained by calling 129 (Health and Welfare Counseling Center), 119 (Emergency Situation Management Center), or 120 (Provincial Call Center) without an area code. It can also be checked through the emergency medical portal, emergency medical information smartphone app, and provincial and city/county websites.

◆ Implementation of Special Traffic Measures for Safe Return Trips

Special traffic measures for the holiday will be implemented for six days from the 17th to the 22nd.

The measures include inspection of COVID-19 prevention measures, operation of situation rooms, road openings, and increased public transportation such as express buses.

Jeonnam Province and 22 cities and counties have recently completed joint inspections of safety and disinfection status at multi-use facilities such as bus terminals, train stations, and parcel logistics terminals.

Particular focus was placed on checking compliance with mask-wearing, prohibition of food consumption, availability of hand sanitizers, and spaced seating for social distancing among public transportation users. Efforts were made to promote adherence to COVID-19 prevention rules, which may have become somewhat lax due to the prolonged pandemic, by simplifying movement routes within terminals and train stations and separating boarding and alighting routes.

Emergency mask supplies were provided to taxi drivers who directly interact with passengers to support COVID-19 prevention through public transportation.

Some road sections will be temporarily opened to allow holiday travelers to reach their hometowns more quickly. The Seohu IC section connecting National Route 2 and the highway, part of the entrance road to the Enterprise City, has been partially opened. Three local road sections totaling 5.6 km?3.0 km between Gurye and Yongbang, 1.3 km between Jangheung Nampo and Jangjae, and 1.3 km near Muan Airport?will be opened from the 17th to the 22nd.

To facilitate the movement of holiday travelers using public transportation, 25 express bus routes between Seoul and Mokpo will be increased by 55 trips, operating a total of 155 trips; however, intercity buses will not be increased considering the COVID-19 situation.

A situation room will also be operated to manage traffic conditions and ensure thorough disinfection during the Chuseok holiday. The Jeonnam Provincial Road Traffic Division will form a duty team to manage the situation, and close cooperation with the Jeonnam Bus Transport Association and the National Police Agency will be maintained.

◆ Operation of Wildfire Prevention Headquarters

Due to concerns about increased wildfire risks caused by visitors such as those paying respects at graves during the Chuseok holiday, a special "Wildfire Prevention Headquarters" will operate from the 18th to the 22nd during the holiday period.

Jeonnam Province plans to carry out multifaceted response activities including emergency duty and focused prevention inspections together with 23 organizations such as cities and counties.

218 personnel will be deployed to strengthen crackdowns on smoking and incense burning during grave trimming and visits, as well as burning of garbage around graves. Five wildfire suppression helicopters, 747 officials and city/county firefighting teams will be rapidly deployed to conduct initial suppression and wildfire prevention activities such as banning burning.

Organic emergency cooperation will be maintained with related organizations such as Yeongam and Suncheon National Forest Management Offices, fire departments, and police. In case of wildfire occurrence, rapid dispatch and apprehension of perpetrators will be jointly undertaken.

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