Suwon City Extends 'Nation's First' Safe Lodging Service Through End of COVID-19

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Seo Dong-young] Suwon City announced on the 4th that it will extend its safe lodging service, the nation's first introduced to prevent the spread of COVID-19 caused by overseas arrivals, through the end of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The safe lodging service was originally planned to operate temporarily until the end of April.

Additionally, Holiday Inn Express Suwon Ingye Branch has been newly designated as a safe lodging facility, allowing travelers to use the hotel starting in May. However, among the existing safe lodging facilities, Ibis Ambassador Hotel is ending its service and will no longer provide discount services for overseas arrivals' families. Ibis Ambassador Hotel had cooperated with the safe lodging service by adjusting its internal renovation schedule, but could not postpone it any further.

Safe lodging facilities available for citizens in the future include five locations: Value High-End, Courtyard by Marriott, Novotel Ambassador, Ramada Plaza Hotel, and Holiday Inn Express Suwon Ingye Branch.

The safe lodging service is a program in which Suwon City signed a business agreement with five hotels in the region on March 27 to provide up to 70% discounts when used by families of overseas arrivals. It began before mandatory self-quarantine for overseas arrivals became mandatory on the 1st of last month. While travelers self-quarantine at home, families can use hotels at low cost, serving as a preemptive quarantine measure to block community transmission. Since the service began, a total of 410 families of arrivals used safe lodging facilities during the month through the 30th of last month.

The service drew nationwide attention. Inquiries for benchmarking poured in from local governments including Jeonju in Jeollabuk Province, Ansan in Gyeonggi Province, and Gangnam-gu in Seoul, earning recognition both domestically and internationally.

Suwon Mayor Yeom Tae-young stated, "I am grateful to citizens who actively used the safe lodging service with high civic awareness and cooperated with quarantine efforts," and "For the safety of our citizens, we will implement thorough management to maximize the suppression of community transmission."