Gwangju City Holds 'Emergency Countermeasure Meeting' Amid Rapid Increase in COVID-19 Cases

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Gwangju Metropolitan City held an 'Emergency Countermeasure Meeting' as the number of daily confirmed COVID-19 cases surged by 65% compared to last week following the phased recovery of daily life.

On the 21st, according to Gwangju City, an emergency countermeasure meeting was held under the chairmanship of Deputy Mayor Kim Jonghyo, with participation from deputy district heads of each autonomous district, heads of relevant city departments, the Office of Education, and senior officials from the police agency.

As the phased transition to daily life recovery, which began on the 1st, enters its fourth week, Gwangju is experiencing a sharp increase in COVID-19 confirmed cases, rising by 65% compared to last week.

In particular, 70 confirmed cases were reported the previous day across various sectors such as bathhouses, schools, and kindergartens, with many cases involving elderly and adolescent groups.

At the meeting, considering that the current cluster outbreaks are largely due to breakthrough infections among the elderly in nursing facilities as time has passed since vaccination, and many cases are occurring in middle schools and kindergartens among children under 10 who have not been vaccinated, measures were discussed to increase vaccination rates, enforce basic quarantine rules, and conduct special guidance and inspections on facilities subject to the quarantine pass system such as entertainment venues, indoor sports facilities, and bathhouses.

Additionally, it was noted that recent cluster infections in middle schools are mainly caused by infections among unvaccinated individuals, as the second-dose vaccination rate for those under 10 is only 15%, highlighting the need to improve vaccination rates.

Furthermore, to minimize breakthrough infections among the elderly, it was reported that in addition to booster vaccinations, it is important to strictly adhere to quarantine guidelines such as mask-wearing and minimizing contact time even among those who have completed vaccination, and measures to prevent confirmed cases among the elderly were also discussed.

Through the meeting, the city decided to extend the special inspection period for phased daily life recovery until December 19, strengthening inspections of entertainment facilities, bathhouses, PC rooms, karaoke rooms, etc., and to increase the frequency of proactive COVID-19 testing for workers at nursing hospitals and facilities from once a week to twice a week to prevent cluster infections among the elderly. In addition, the city plans to actively encourage vaccination among teenagers in their teens.

Deputy Mayor Kim Jonghyo said, “The recent pattern of confirmed cases shows an increasing proportion of breakthrough infections even among those who have completed the second dose, so even vaccinated individuals must not lower their guard and should continue wearing masks and minimizing contact time among vaccinated people,” adding, “We hope citizens actively participate in improving vaccination rates among the unvaccinated, receiving booster shots for those fully vaccinated, wearing masks, and complying with quarantine rules such as the quarantine pass.”

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