Gyeonggi Province to Press Charges and Enforce Mandatory Quarantine for Those Refusing COVID-19 Isolation

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Park No-hun] As Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung strongly condemned non-cooperators with the novel coronavirus infection surveillance through social media, Gyeonggi Province announced a hardline stance not only to impose criminal fines of up to 3 million won against them through prosecution measures, but also to enforce quarantine using coercive measures.

To this end, the province plans to organize a dedicated task force (TF) and respond jointly with police to secure the persons and forcibly quarantine non-cooperators.

According to Gyeonggi Province on the 3rd, the province plans to establish a dedicated task force for non-cooperators with the novel coronavirus. Non-cooperators refer to those among self-isolation and active surveillance targets who refuse or cannot be contacted properly.

The task force will consist of six members from related departments: three civil affairs special envoys, one official from the health and medical policy division, one from the autonomous administration division, and one from the planning division.

They will oversee management of non-cooperators and administrative measures, and take charge of securing persons through coordination with police.

For those refusing quarantine, the province plans to impose criminal fines of up to 3 million won through prosecution measures, and to immediately enforce quarantine in accordance with Article 42 and 47 of the Infectious Disease Prevention Act and Article 5 of the Police Official Duties Execution Act.

The province's measure comes as the number of confirmed cases nationwide increases, secondary and tertiary confirmed cases are occurring through contact, and some regions are experiencing cases where people refuse to comply with active surveillance and reject phone calls.

Governor Lee Jae-myung of Gyeonggi Province said, "Gyeonggi Province will continue with an ultra-strong response to prevent the spread of infectious diseases and deal with quarantine refusal without tolerance," and added, "Let us expedite the end of the novel coronavirus infection through calm and mature response."