Gyeonggi-do Publishes 866-Day COVID-19 Response Report... 165 Pages Long

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Gyeonggi Province has published a 2-year-and-5-month COVID-19 response report titled 'Gyeonggi Province Health and Medical Sector COVID-19 Response Record.'

This report summarizes 866 days of confirmed case occurrences, administrative, quarantine, and medical responses by the province from January 17, 2020, when the province formed the COVID-19 quarantine task force, until May 31 of this year, in a 165-page document.

During this period, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the province was 4,928,165 (5,001,197 as of July 5), accounting for 36.2% of the province's total population. The number of deaths was 6,222 (6,277 as of July 5).

The province divided the past 2 years and 5 months into epidemic periods in the report as follows: ▲1st phase February to July 2020 ▲2nd phase August to October 2020 ▲3rd phase November 2020 to June 2021 ▲4th phase July 2021 to January 2022 ▲5th phase from February 2022 ongoing.

In particular, the report includes not only the province's response records but also evaluations and advice from experts such as Professor Choi Won-seok of Korea University Ansan Hospital, Director Lim Seung-kwan of Gyeonggi Provincial Medical Center Anseong Hospital, and Director Kim Mi-kyung of Gunpo City Health Center.

Experts positively evaluated Gyeonggi Province's flexible responses by epidemic period, including mask-wearing, active training of epidemiological investigators, and operation of home treatment.

However, since the COVID-19 epidemic is still ongoing, they advised maintaining the surveillance system continuously and preparing medical and quarantine response capabilities to prepare for the worst-case scenario.

Ryu Young-chul, Director of the Gyeonggi Province Health and Wellness Bureau, said, "Gyeonggi Province has tried to record every detail of the 2 years and 5 months during which public-private cooperation was made to protect the health and lives of residents," adding, "The response record will be used in the future to explore directions for infectious disease response systems and policy development."