Jeon Hae-cheol: "Management with Zero Tolerance Principle"... Government Joint Special Inspection of 7 Vulnerable Areas Including Academies and Restaurants in the Seoul Metropolitan Area (Comprehensive)

590 Personnel Deployed for Government Joint Special Inspection... 59 Cities, Counties, and Districts in the Seoul Metropolitan Area Targeted for Special Inspection
Additional Temporary Screening Clinics Established and Timely Expansion of Quarantine Personnel

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced on the 12th that, as new COVID-19 cases have surged recently, mainly in the metropolitan area, it will conduct a joint government special quarantine inspection targeting seven vulnerable sectors including academies, restaurants, and entertainment establishments in the metropolitan area.

At a briefing held at the Government Seoul Office on the same day during the 'COVID-19 Response Metropolitan Area Special Quarantine Inspection Meeting,' the Ministry of the Interior and Safety presented a joint government special quarantine inspection and quarantine reinforcement support plan based on this content.

Minister Jeon Hae-cheol stated, "We will conduct special quarantine inspections in the metropolitan area until the quarantine situation stabilizes," and emphasized, "The government will manage the metropolitan area's quarantine situation with a zero-tolerance policy to ensure that quarantine rules are strictly followed at high-risk sites."

The joint government special quarantine inspection team includes five central ministries, local governments, and the police, expanding from the existing 28 teams and 64 personnel to 118 teams and 590 personnel. The special quarantine inspection target areas are 59 cities, counties, and districts in the metropolitan area, specifically 25 in Seoul, 26 in Gyeonggi, and 8 in Incheon.

The inspection sectors are seven vulnerable areas where cluster infections have occurred: academies and private institutes, indoor sports facilities, religious facilities, karaoke rooms, bathhouse and lodging facilities, entertainment establishments, and restaurants/cafes. Instead of one-time sample inspections, intensive full inspections will be conducted on these facilities over a set period.

For infection-vulnerable workplaces outside the seven special inspection sectors, 24 relevant central ministries and local governments will participate in inspections. Each ministry will check the quarantine status of their respective facilities, focus on promoting the revised quarantine rules, and emphasize voluntary quarantine through meetings with related organizations and associations.

To enhance the enforcement of quarantine inspections, the government is also implementing legal and institutional measures. From the 8th, under the Enforcement Rules of the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act, business owners violating quarantine rules such as non-compliance with operating hours will face business suspension orders according to the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act. Additionally, to increase the effectiveness of inspections, results will be actively disclosed to the public through briefings and other means.

Furthermore, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety will support strengthening metropolitan area quarantine by enhancing diagnostic testing capacity at temporary screening clinics, expanding quarantine personnel, and promoting autonomous vaccinations by local governments. Thirty-two additional temporary screening clinics will be installed in areas with high foot traffic, operating hours will be extended, and special grants will be provided for rapid establishment of temporary screening clinics. The recruitment schedule for local government officials will be significantly shortened to quickly secure infectious disease response specialists.

Locally led autonomous vaccinations will also be fully implemented. For vaccination of high-risk groups in the metropolitan area, 340,000 people in Seoul and Gyeonggi will receive the first dose, and a total of 2.66 million doses for the second and third rounds will be allocated proportionally to the population across 17 cities and provinces, with vaccinations scheduled to proceed sequentially from the end of July. To strengthen vaccination capacity, 15 additional centers nationwide, including 13 in Seoul and Gyeonggi, will be established, operating a total of 282 vaccination centers.

Minister Jeon said, "We will impose penalties such as business suspension orders under the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act on business owners who do not comply with operating hours, exclude them from disaster relief funds, or claim compensation," and added, "We will advance the recruitment schedule for new local government officials by up to 60 days and shorten hiring by up to 100 days, support 250 personnel including military, police, and administrative staff to expand epidemiological investigations, and provide necessary personnel to the field in a timely manner."