Emergency Meeting on COVID-19 and Inspection of Shincheonji Church

Dongdaemun-gu Holds Emergency Countermeasure Meeting on 24th at 9 AM Following COVID-19 Crisis Alert Raised to 'Severe'... 24-Hour Operation of Screening Clinics, Enhanced Quarantine, Extended Suspension of Cultural Classes, Joint Response Team for Chinese Students, etc.

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Dongdaemun-gu (Mayor You Deok-yeol) held an emergency countermeasure meeting regarding COVID-19 at the mayor's office at 9 a.m. on the 24th.

As the government raised the COVID-19 response crisis alert to the highest level, "Severe," the mayor, vice mayor, head of the health center, and district executives attended the meeting to review the response measures once again and discuss future response plans.

Through the meeting, they discussed ▲ smooth operation of the 24-hour screening clinic ▲ strengthening community-focused quarantine ▲ extension of closure of multi-use facilities and suspension of cultural classes ▲ operation of a joint response team for Chinese international students entering Korea ▲ disinfection and closure measures for Shincheonji churches within Dongdaemun-gu.

The district is expanding the emergency response dedicated TF team to operate the 24-hour screening clinic. From 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, medical staff including one doctor, nurses, and health personnel work, and from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. the next day, administrative staff and transport personnel including nurses are on duty during nighttime.

The health center's mobile disinfection team, currently disinfecting 484 locations daily including daycare centers, kindergartens, schools, senior centers, bus garages, and subway stations, will continue its disinfection efforts. The volunteer disinfection team, consisting of 48 members, is also thoroughly disinfecting bus stops, parks, and community centers throughout the district.

In particular, the volunteer disinfection team is making every effort to disinfect areas where Chinese international students reside.

They are also considering extending the closure and suspension period of multi-use facilities and cultural classes, which have been closed or suspended from the 10th to the 29th.

Additionally, through the operation of the "Joint Response Team for Chinese International Students Entering Korea" supporting COVID-19 response at universities within Dongdaemun-gu, an emergency communication system among the district office, universities, and health center has been established. For incoming international students, the district supports charter bus costs for transportation, personnel costs for monitoring, medical staff (one doctor and two nurses per school) at Seoul City University and Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, which lack medical institutions, and assigns two district office staff each to Kyung Hee University and Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, which have shortages of administrative personnel.

Furthermore, five Shincheonji churches in the area were disinfected and all were closed. Mayor You Deok-yeol inspected the closed Shincheonji churches at 3:30 p.m. on the 24th.

Mayor You Deok-yeol stated, "As the COVID-19 response crisis alert has been raised to 'Severe,' our district has strengthened the response system in various areas such as quarantine, suspension of classes, and facility closures," adding, "We will maintain vigilance until the situation is resolved and cooperate thoroughly with all local facilities, staff, and schools for a thorough response."