Gunsan City Enters Focused 'Emergency Quarantine System' During Lunar New Year Holiday... Until February 18

Recent Increase in Respiratory, Waterborne, and Foodborne Infectious Diseases

The Gunsan City Public Health Center in Jeonbuk announced on the 29th that it will operate a winter emergency quarantine system in preparation for the Lunar New Year holiday, amid an increasing trend of various respiratory, waterborne, and foodborne infectious diseases following the COVID-19 pandemic.

The city will operate this emergency quarantine system with a focus on rapid response during the Lunar New Year holiday until the 18th of next month. It aims to prepare for potential outbreaks of infectious diseases during crowd gatherings over the holiday period. A 24-hour emergency contact system will be established and operated with related organizations to continuously monitor for group outbreaks.

Norovirus Prevention Guidelines Poster. [Photo by Gunsan City]

According to statistics from the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, the number of norovirus infection patients nationwide has steadily increased from 279 in the last week of December last year to 360 in the second week of January this year.

Norovirus can survive for up to three days even in everyday environments and has a high infectivity, making prevention and response crucial. Preventive measures for waterborne and foodborne infectious diseases include ▲ washing hands properly with soap under running water for more than 30 seconds ▲ closing the toilet lid before flushing ▲ thoroughly cooking food before eating ▲ refraining from preparing food when experiencing diarrhea symptoms.

In the past month, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections have also increased, with around 400 patients reported, indicating a growing scale of the outbreak. To prevent respiratory infectious diseases, individuals should follow personal hygiene rules such as ▲ covering mouth and nose when coughing ▲ avoiding touching eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands ▲ avoiding contact with people showing respiratory symptoms.

A public health center official said, "If two or more people experience gastrointestinal symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea, nausea, or abdominal pain after consuming the same food, or if one or more cases of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection occur, please report immediately to the public health center."