Gwangju Mayor Kang Gijeong Orders Special Measures to Prevent COVID-19 Resurgence Spread

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Yoon Jamin] Recently, as signs of a resurgence of COVID-19 have appeared, Kang Gijeong, Mayor of Gwangju Metropolitan City, has ordered the establishment of special countermeasures.

According to Gwangju City on the 13th, after receiving a report on the occurrence and response status of COVID-19 from related departments, Mayor Kang checked the overall situation and response system of COVID-19 in Gwangju, including the status of dedicated hospital beds, medical response system, quarantine status of vulnerable groups, and vaccination status.

Subsequently, he instructed to strengthen the response capabilities against infectious diseases by ▲establishing measures to increase the 4th vaccination rate ▲proactive medical response for vulnerable groups and strengthening management of vulnerable facilities ▲enhancing medical convenience by expanding one-stop medical institutions for rapid testing and treatment ▲strengthening inspection of quarantine response personnel and facilities ▲operating a hotline at all times among ambulance teams, emergency rooms, inpatient wards, and city/district health centers ▲and training of specialized personnel.

Gwangju recorded the lowest COVID-19 incidence rate, meaning the number of cases per 100,000 people, at 8.9 on June 28.

However, as the number of confirmed cases nationwide began to increase, Gwangju also saw a sharp rise in confirmed cases: 9.6 on June 30, 10.9 on July 3, 14 on July 6, 20.6 on July 10, and 30.3 on July 13.

The city analyzes the factors for the increase in confirmed cases as ▲an increase in overseas-imported confirmed cases infected with the highly transmissible BA.5 variant ▲an increase in floating population during the summer vacation season due to eased quarantine measures ▲increased indoor activities in the 3Cs (close contact, closed spaces, crowded places) environment ▲and decreased vaccine effectiveness over time after vaccination.

Accordingly, on the 11th, the city held a collaborative meeting with heads of medical associations and related organizations to discuss and prepare countermeasures for the resurgence.

From that day, prompt responses began, including on-site inspections of autonomous district health centers and medical institutions.

Mayor Kang said, “There are limits to the response method of suppressing confirmed cases through control, so it is necessary to shift the response paradigm to focus on managing high-risk groups and preventing progression to severe illness.”

He added, “Although the 6th major wave of COVID-19 has begun, our city will serve as the control tower for quarantine and do our best to manage citizens’ health,” and urged, “We ask citizens to strictly follow daily quarantine rules such as completing vaccinations, ventilating frequently, wearing masks at all times, and washing hands often.”

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