Gyeongbuk Province Records Lowest COVID-19 Incidence Nationwide... Leading K-Quarantine Efforts

Governor Lee Cheol-woo Proposes Shift from Centralized Uniform Approach to Local-led Autonomous Promotion

Governor Lee Cheol-woo of Gyeongbuk Province attending the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters meeting on COVID-19 presided over by the President.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Gwi-yeol] Lee Cheol-woo, Governor of Gyeongbuk Province, participated in the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (hereafter, Central Headquarters) meeting on COVID-19 chaired by the President on the morning of the 29th.

At this meeting, Governor Lee Cheol-woo stated that full efforts are being made for quarantine and medical responses in preparation for the re-spread of the Omicron variant, and proposed that a quarantine system suitable for local conditions be decided.

So far, the province has actively carried out quarantine activities at each turning point of the pandemic, including ▲preventive cohort implementation in welfare facilities ▲implementation of Gyeongbuk-type social distancing ▲complete lifting of social distancing at the myeon (township) level, and proposals for private-led social agreement-type social distancing.

Additionally, new quarantine systems were proposed, such as ▲enactment of ordinances supporting medical fees for rapid antigen tests at local clinics and hospitals ▲recommendations to suspend the quarantine pass, leading K-quarantine proactively.

As a result, although large-scale confirmed cases initially occurred centered in the region at the early stage of COVID-19, the current incidence rate relative to the population is maintained at about 32%, the lowest nationwide (37.8%).

Based on the successful experience of implementing the nation’s first Gyeongbuk-type social distancing targeting 12 counties with populations under 100,000 at this meeting, Governor Lee proposed promoting a locally led autonomous quarantine system involving residents rather than a centrally driven uniform social distancing method.

Prior to this, to prepare for the re-outbreak of the Omicron variant, the province operated a joint rapid response team centered on vice-mayors of cities and counties, focusing on minimizing deaths among the elderly aged 65 and over and infection-vulnerable facilities, securing a response system for rapid situation management from the early stages of occurrence.

Also, to enable early dispersion of nursing hospitals and facilities where many deaths occurred, the province invested 600 million KRW in 10 nursing hospitals by region, installing and operating negative pressure equipment on entire floors for the first time nationwide.

In the absence of severe and advanced hospitals, to prevent early refusal of emergency room admissions, 1.5 billion KRW is being invested to install 15 mobile container negative pressure isolation rooms in front of emergency rooms at infectious disease-dedicated hospitals.

On this day, President Yoon Seok-yeol said, “The locally led quarantine response proposed by Gyeongbuk should become a trusted scientific quarantine measure based on scientific data, not sacrifice and coercion to the people,” and added, “I hope related ministries cooperate by considering regional situations when deciding quarantine policies.”

Governor Lee Cheol-woo of Gyeongbuk Province said, “We will concentrate all capabilities on quarantine and medical responses to protect the safety of residents with the shining power of Gyeongbuk in the face of crisis,” and “We will create the safest Gyeongbuk where small business owners and micro-entrepreneurs can focus on their business without worry and open a new Republic of Korea.”

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