Gwanak-gu, Unannounced Inspections of Self-Quarantined Individuals

Joint Unannounced On-Site Inspection by Gwanak Police Station to Prevent Quarantine Violations and Strengthen Response to Increased Number of Self-Quarantine Cases Following Mandatory Quarantine for All Overseas Arrivals from April 1

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Gwanak-gu (Mayor Park Jun-hee) has strengthened the management of individuals under self-quarantine in response to the rapid increase in the number of self-quarantined persons following the mandatory self-quarantine for all overseas arrivals starting this month.

To this end, the district has expanded the self-quarantine team within the Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters.

The number of self-quarantine team members and monitoring personnel has been increased from the previous 211 to 320, and additional monitoring officers proficient in foreign languages such as English, Chinese, and Japanese have been assigned to strengthen management of all self-quarantine subjects, including overseas arrivals.

The district requires arrivals transported by a dedicated airport bus from Incheon Airport to Gwanak-gu Office to undergo COVID-19 diagnostic testing at the Gwanak-gu Public Health Center screening clinic, and then guides them to return home by official vehicle or private car to undergo a 2-week self-quarantine.

Additionally, arrivals are instructed to immediately install the ‘Self-Quarantine Safety Protection App’ upon entry and to self-diagnose and input suspected symptoms such as fever and sore throat twice daily.

The district checks the presence or absence of symptoms and compliance with living guidelines of self-quarantined individuals through the app, and if confirmation is not possible via the app, monitoring is conducted twice daily by phone.

Following recent cases of self-quarantine violations and subsequent prosecutions in other local governments, the district sends text messages to all self-quarantined individuals from the start date of quarantine, informing them of ▲living guidelines ▲prevention rules ▲and prosecution in case of violation during the quarantine period.

Furthermore, to thoroughly prevent violations of self-quarantine obligations, the district, in cooperation with the Gwanak Police Station, has organized five teams of two-person units to conduct periodic unannounced visits to the residences of self-quarantined individuals to sample-check compliance.

The district plans to immediately prosecute anyone who violates and leaves self-quarantine without justifiable reason under the ‘One-Strike Out’ policy.

Gwanak-gu assigns dedicated public officials to all self-quarantined individuals for twice-daily monitoring and provides various support including daily necessities worth approximately 100,000 KRW such as rice, ramen, and bottled water.

Mayor Park Jun-hee said, “As the number of overseas arrivals under self-quarantine rapidly increases, it is more important than ever for the subjects to faithfully fulfill their quarantine obligations. We ask for your sincere cooperation,” and added, “Our district will mobilize all capabilities to fundamentally block the community spread of COVID-19 imported from abroad.”