Five Suwon Hotels Utilized as Reassurance Accommodations for Families of Overseas Arrivals

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Seo Dong-young] Suwon City announced on the 29th that it will utilize five hotels within the city as "reassurance accommodations" where families of overseas arrivals can temporarily reside.

With an increase in cases where families have been infected after overseas arrivals tested positive for COVID-19, the city has decided to utilize hotels as temporary family residential facilities to prevent secondary infections among the families of arriving travelers.

Suwon City and five hotels—Value High End Hotel Suwon, Ibis Ambassador Suwon, Novotel Ambassador Suwon, Ramada Plaza Suwon, and Courtyard by Marriott Suwon—signed a memorandum of understanding at City Hall on the 27th.

These hotels have agreed to cooperate by allowing families residing in Suwon to use the hotels at discounted rates while overseas arrivals conduct self-quarantine at home.

Under the agreement, families of overseas arrivals can use the hotels at accommodation rates agreed upon between the city and the five hotels. The rates offer discounts of up to 70% compared to regular room rates. The five hotels have a total of 1,402 rooms. Families wishing to use the service need only present the overseas arrival's air ticket (proof of entry and exit) and a resident registration certificate to the hotel.

The five hotels have agreed to provide "reassurance accommodation service" to families of overseas arrivals until the COVID-19 pandemic subsides.

Suwon City will establish a cooperative system with hotels used as temporary residential facilities and provide administrative support. When overseas arrivals conduct self-quarantine at home while families stay at hotels, infection risks can be blocked and "complete isolation" can be achieved. As of noon on the 28th, two families have made reservations at Ibis Ambassador Suwon, one family at Value High End Hotel Suwon, and one family at Courtyard by Marriott Suwon.

A city official urged, "Although it may be somewhat inconvenient, please use the reassurance accommodations to block the possibility of infection among family members and the spread to the community," and requested "voluntary participation."

As of 9 a.m. on the 29th, there are 37 confirmed cases in Suwon City, including 6 cases confirmed at quarantine facilities. Since the 17th confirmed case occurred on the 8th, a total of 21 people, including those confirmed at quarantine facilities, have tested positive due to overseas travel history and family infections from confirmed cases.

In particular, all three family members of the 23rd confirmed case in Suwon City, who returned from Europe on the 17th, tested positive. In contrast, a man in his 20s (quarantine facility Suwon confirmed case-1) who entered from the United States on the 19th and was diagnosed positive the next day after testing at the quarantine facility avoided contact by telling his parents to "stay at a hotel until test results come out" before arriving home, preventing additional infections.

Among overseas arrivals, symptomatic individuals undergo specimen tests at quarantine facility isolation facilities at airports, but asymptomatic individuals undergo self-quarantine after returning home without separate isolation measures, either taking diagnostic tests within three days (for arrivals from Europe) or mandatory self-quarantine for two weeks (for arrivals from the United States). The government is reviewing mandatory self-quarantine for all overseas arrivals, not just those from Europe and the United States.

Since the 26th, the city, which has been operating a temporary residential facility for asymptomatic overseas arrivals (Election Management Committee Training Institute for Elections), is requesting that all overseas arrivals self-quarantine for a certain period and avoid contact with family members and acquaintances.