'1,041 Cases Confirmed in Last 5 Days' Gwangju Area Daycares to Close for 2 Weeks Starting 24th

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Facilities such as daycare centers and kindergartens in the Gwangju area have been ordered to close urgently for two weeks from the 24th of this month to the 6th of next month.

This measure was taken in consideration of the ongoing cluster infections mainly among unvaccinated children under the age of 12.

On the 19th, Kim Jonghyo, Deputy Mayor of Gwangju Metropolitan City, strongly recommended a temporary pause for the safety of the Gwangju community during a COVID-19 briefing.

On the 16th, the number of new confirmed cases in the Gwangju area reached 237, marking the highest daily record ever. The total number of confirmed cases over the past five days reached 1,041.

As of 2 p.m. on the same day, 320 people were confirmed positive, already breaking the daily record for the highest number of confirmed cases.

Cases are rapidly increasing not only in high-risk facilities such as nursing hospitals, medical institutions, and welfare facilities but also sporadically occurring everywhere without time to trace infection routes.

In particular, the Omicron variant, which accounted for only 0.3% of nationwide confirmed cases in the first week of December last year, rose to about 42% by the second week of January in just over a month, and the Omicron detection rate in the Gwangju area has recently reached 80% in the past week, establishing itself as the dominant strain.

Accordingly, Gwangju City has recommended the closure of daycare centers and kindergartens and decided to strengthen special inspections on quarantine measures at multi-use facilities.

The city plans to strengthen special inspections on multi-use facilities in cooperation with autonomous districts, the Office of Education, and the Police Agency, and thoroughly check compliance with basic quarantine rules such as mask-wearing, restrictions on private gatherings, business hours limitations, and implementation of the quarantine pass in connection with the special quarantine measures for the Lunar New Year.

Deputy Mayor Kim Jonghyo urged, “Please refrain from visiting your hometown or traveling during the Lunar New Year holiday, and even among family members, avoid unnecessary meetings and events as much as possible. Strictly follow quarantine rules such as wearing masks and limiting the number of private gatherings, and if you have any suspicious symptoms, be sure to get tested at the nearest screening clinic.”

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