Jeonnam Province, Full Effort to Prevent COVID-19 Spread in Bathhouses... Emergency Mask Support Provided

[Muan=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Yoon Jamin] Jeonnam Province announced on the 27th that it will urgently provide waterproof masks to block the spread following the recent consecutive outbreaks of COVID-19 infections originating from bathhouses.

There are 325 operating bathhouses in Jeonnam Province, with a total of 1,466 business owners and workers.

Bathhouses are typical 3-dense environments (closed spaces, close contact, and crowded places), and many workers such as bathhouse attendants tend to avoid wearing masks altogether because masks quickly become damp inside the bath.

In the past month, there have been a total of 83 confirmed COVID-19 cases originating from bathhouses: 38 in Yeosu, 17 in Gwangyang, 12 in Muan, 10 in Yeonggwang, and 6 in Haenam.

Accordingly, the province purchased 12,300 waterproof masks and distributed them to 325 bathhouses to block the cluster infections originating from bathhouses.

In addition, until the 7th of next month, joint inspections with city and county authorities will be conducted to thoroughly check quarantine measures such as verifying quarantine passes for bathhouse entrants and weekly PCR testing for workers.

The key inspection items include ▲ operation of quarantine managers ▲ verification of quarantine passes such as vaccination certificates and negative test confirmations for entrants ▲ mask-wearing by workers ▲ management of entry logs ▲ compliance with mandatory bathhouse quarantine rules such as prohibition of food consumption.

Since the 2nd, an administrative order has been in effect requiring bathhouse operators and workers to undergo weekly PCR testing.

Violations of the administrative order, like mandatory quarantine rules, will be strictly punished with business suspension and fines according to the “Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Act.”

Lee Youngchun, Director of the Food and Drug Division of Jeonnam Province, urged, “To create a safe bathhouse environment, users must strictly follow quarantine rules such as prohibiting food consumption except for water and beverages and wearing masks, and refrain from long-term use.”

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