Jeonnam Province Provides 'Customized Services' for Elderly Care Vulnerable During Chuseok Holiday

[Muan=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Jeonnam Province announced on the 17th that it will provide customized care services for vulnerable elderly people who are unable to meet their families due to COVID-19 during the Chuseok holiday or who have no relatives.

Along with this, online memorial and grave-visiting services will also be supported.

With the nationwide social distancing level 3 extended until the end of this month, the number of vulnerable elderly people in need of care in Jeonnam has reached 64,996 due to refraining from visiting family hometowns, non-face-to-face family gatherings (video calls, grass-cutting proxy services, online grave visits, etc.), and the closure of social welfare facilities.

Accordingly, the province has undertaken visits before, during, and after the Chuseok holiday to check on all recipients of the Elderly Customized Care, Smart (Internet of Things, Information and Communication Technology) Care, and Elderly Guardians teams, inspecting IoT and ICT equipment installed in each household, and reorganizing emergency contact networks to prepare for any possible emergencies.

The Elderly Customized Care Service, targeting elderly people aged 65 and over who need care, provides tailored services such as welfare worker visits, life education, and cognitive prevention programs to about 51,000 people.

The Smart Care Service monitors the safety and health status of about 23,000 elderly people, including those receiving Elderly Customized Care and those living alone, using information and communication technology, and responds promptly by linking with 119 in case of emergencies.

The Elderly Guardians system, implemented nationwide for the first time since 2016, utilizes local human resources such as village chiefs and women's association presidents to minimize blind spots in care by regularly checking on and providing care items to about 2,000 elderly people living alone who are isolated from public services and at risk of lonely death.

Jeonnam Province is also implementing quarantine measures for funeral facilities in preparation for the Chuseok holiday to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the region, including ▲using online memorial and grave-visiting services ▲implementing a reservation system for visitors to columbarium facilities ▲maintaining a 2-meter distance at gravesites ▲limiting the number of people in funeral halls to fewer than 50 per room and one person per 4 square meters.

The online memorial and grave-visiting service will be operated at public funeral facilities (columbarium facilities, natural burial grounds, gravesites) where a concentration of visitors is expected during the holiday period.

Visitors wishing to use the service can apply through the Korea Funeral Culture Promotion Agency’s ‘e-Haneul Online Memorial and Grave-Visiting Service’.

To provide an experience similar to an actual grave visit, users can register photos of the deceased, create online memorial halls and ancestral ritual tables, and use communication functions to exchange greetings among family and relatives.

Visitors who wish to visit columbarium facilities in person must use the ‘reservation system.’ Visiting hours and the number of visitors are limited according to the size of the facility. Additionally, ritual rooms and family lounges in columbarium facilities will be closed, and indoor food consumption is prohibited.