"Shows No Sign of Stopping" Cumulative 110 COVID-19 Cases in Gwangju Area

Gwangju Mayor Lee Yong-seop and Gwangju Superintendent of Education Jang Hwi-guk Press Conference... Announcement of Additional High-Risk Facility Designations

On the afternoon of the 5th, Lee Yong-seop, Mayor of Gwangju Metropolitan City, and Jang Hwi-guk, Superintendent of Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education, held a press conference in the city hall briefing room to announce the designation of additional high-risk facilities to prevent the local spread of COVID-19. Photo by Gwangju Metropolitan City

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] In the Gwangju area, 16 new COVID-19 cases were confirmed on the 4th, and as of 3 p.m. on the 5th, 2 additional cases were reported, bringing the total cumulative confirmed cases to 110.

Over the past nine days since the 27th of last month, 77 new cases have been added, increasing concerns and anxiety about the spread of community infections.

In particular, the infection routes of these cases are diverse, with 41 people aged 60 or older accounting for 53% of the 77 cases, and 34 asymptomatic cases making up 44%.

Lee Yong-seop, Mayor of Gwangju Metropolitan City, and Jang Hwi-guk, Superintendent of Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education, held a press conference at the city hall briefing room in the afternoon to announce additional designation of high-risk facilities to block the spread of COVID-19 in the community.

First, the Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education will switch Ildong Elementary School to remote classes for two weeks from the day a confirmed case was reported until the 19th.

Also, all kindergartens, elementary, middle, and high schools in Buk-gu will suspend in-person attendance and conduct remote classes until the 12th, except for 12th-grade students.

Furthermore, the operation of after-school care classrooms at Ildong Elementary School will be completely suspended until the 10th, and after-school care in schools and kindergartens in Buk-gu will be minimized.

Previously, Gwangju designated 13 places such as entertainment establishments and PC rooms as high-risk facilities.

However, to prevent additional confirmed cases, academies, religious facilities, and densely populated underground multi-use facilities have been newly designated as high-risk facilities for management.

In the case of academies, only large academies with more than 300 students were previously classified as high-risk facilities, but from this day forward, all academies in the jurisdiction will be included as high-risk facilities regardless of the number of students.

Also, due to the recent concentration of confirmed cases in temples and churches, religious facilities have been designated as high-risk facilities for management.

Accordingly, these facilities must refrain from operating under administrative measures restricting gatherings from this day until the 15th. If operation is unavoidable, indoor attendance must be limited to fewer than 50 people, and all must wear masks, undergo temperature checks, complete electronic entry logs (QR codes), maintain social distancing, and strictly follow disinfection and other prescribed quarantine rules.

Gwangju City, with cooperation from the five autonomous districts, the police agency, and the education office, will establish a continuous inspection system to frequently monitor compliance with quarantine rules at high-risk facilities and will strictly punish violations.

Currently, Gwangju is implementing a "2-week visitation ban" as a pre-stage to cohort isolation for elderly nursing facilities.

From this day, administrative measures prohibit facility workers from visiting other facilities or contacting outsiders except for commuting, and from the 7th, COVID-19 testing will be conducted for all nursing facility workers and residents.

At the COVID-19 Public-Private Joint Countermeasures Committee meeting held this day, the criteria for raising social distancing to level 3 were discussed, resulting in the decision to immediately escalate the quarantine response system to level 3 when ▲ double-digit local infection cases occur for three consecutive days or more ▲ the situation is judged to be very severe.

Social distancing level 3 essentially prohibits all activities except essential socio-economic activities.

Specifically, gatherings, meetings, and events of 10 or more people are banned, sports events are suspended, and schools, kindergartens, and daycare centers switch to remote classes or close. Institutions and companies will have all employees except essential personnel work from home or recommend doing so.

Gwangju currently has secured a total of 132 beds, including 28 national treatment beds (17 in Gwangju, 11 in other cities/provinces) and 104 beds in infectious disease-dedicated hospitals, with 53 beds remaining available.

Additionally, the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters will dispatch 37 medical personnel (7 doctors, 30 nurses) to Gwangju on the 6th.