Concerns Over Undetected Transmission... Gwangjin-gu Conducts Preemptive Testing for Elderly Welfare Facility Workers

680 Senior Welfare Facility Workers Undergo Preliminary Testing at Gwangjin Square on 13-14th

Kim Seon-gap, Mayor of Gwangjin District, is putting a mask on an elderly person in celebration of Parents' Day.

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Gwangjin-gu (District Mayor Kim Seon-gap) is conducting proactive testing for workers at elderly welfare facilities to prevent infections within these facilities, as the number of so-called 'unknown transmission patients' with unclear infection routes has recently increased.

The proactive testing will be held over two days, from the 13th to the 14th, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Gwangjin Square, targeting a total of 680 workers from local nursing homes, daycare centers, and other elderly welfare facilities.

Eleven members of the Seoul Metropolitan Hospital medical support team will participate in this testing, operating one reception and administration booth and three specimen collection booths.

Testing will be conducted in shifts to ensure there is no gap in care for the elderly.

Additionally, Gwangjin-gu plans to establish and operate the nation's first infectious disease management advisory group to prevent COVID-19 infections among the elderly.

The advisory group, composed of the infection control team from Konkuk University Hospital, will visit 18 local daytime care facilities directly from the 14th to the 31st to inspect COVID-19 prevention measures and infection management systems, providing customized consulting for each facility to improve quarantine management and environmental hygiene.

Kim Seon-gap, Mayor of Gwangjin-gu, stated, “As community cluster infections and asymptomatic cases with unknown transmission routes continue to occur, we have implemented proactive testing for elderly facility workers and established an infectious disease advisory group to preemptively block infections within elderly facilities. Since the mortality rate for COVID-19 patients aged 60 and over reaches 30% on average, and the fatality rate for those aged 80 and above is 24.8%, the coronavirus is particularly deadly for the elderly. We will focus on prevention through proactive measures.”