Gyeonggi Province Urges Staggered Summer Vacation Use...Concerns Over COVID-19 Spread from Capital Region to Other Areas

[Suwon Ilbo=Park No-hoon Reporter] As COVID-19 continues to spread centered on the capital region, Gwangju, and Daejeon, Gyeonggi Province has urged the staggered use of summer vacations.

Lee Hee-young, co-head of Gyeonggi Province's COVID-19 Emergency Response Taskforce (professor of public healthcare division at Bundang Seoul National University Hospital), stated at a regular briefing on the 8th, "As the peak vacation season begins in July, there are growing concerns that the currently concentrated infections in the capital region will spread to other areas through vacationers."
Co-head Lee emphasized, "Just as COVID-19 spread increased during the Golden Week holiday period in late April to early May, the risk of COVID-19 is always lurking wherever there are gaps in quarantine measures. Please use summer vacations in a staggered manner and voluntarily comply with social distancing guidelines."

As of 0:00 on the 8th, a total of 18 new confirmed cases were reported in the province: 6 related to door-to-door sales meetings in the capital region, 1 related to Gangnam door-to-door sales, 1 related to Uijeongbu apartment, 3 community-acquired cases, and 7 imported from overseas.

Confirmed cases related to door-to-door sales meetings in the capital region increased by 6 from the previous day at 0:00, bringing the total to 24. The 6 additional confirmed cases include 4 related to Goyang Won-dang Cathedral and 2 related to Gunpo medical and health supplement sales company Happy Lang Healing Center. All are contacts such as family members and acquaintances of existing confirmed cases. The province confirmed that one of the additional cases had a history of hospitalization at Namcheon Hospital in Gunpo on June 27, so 28 patients in the same ward and 20 contact staff were isolated. Additionally, the province identified 620 people who attended Mass at Goyang Won-dang Cathedral from June 24 to July 5 and is conducting comprehensive testing.

Confirmed cases in the province related to Gangnam door-to-door sales increased by 1 from the previous day at 0:00, totaling 2. The additional confirmed case is confirmed to have had contact with the previously confirmed door-to-door sales operator, sharing a meal at a restaurant in Seoul on July 1.

Confirmed cases related to Uijeongbu apartment increased by 1 from the previous day at 0:00, bringing the total to 22. The additional confirmed case is confirmed to have had contact with an existing confirmed case at a restaurant on June 27 and was confirmed after symptoms such as low-grade fever appeared on July 6.

There are a total of 3 new confirmed cases of community-acquired origin with unclear transmission routes. A confirmed case residing in Seongnam tested positive after symptoms such as low-grade fever appeared on July 3 and is confirmed to have reported to a Doosan Construction site through July 6. Diagnostic testing is being conducted on 3 family members who are contacts and 10 female break room users from the same company; they are currently in self-isolation. Another confirmed case is a Gwangmyeong resident who tested positive after symptoms such as fever and chills appeared on July 5. Another confirmed case is an Anyang resident who tested positive after symptoms such as fever and sore throat appeared beginning July 4. The transmission routes for these 3 cases are of unknown origin; rapid response teams have been dispatched to conduct in-depth epidemiological investigations.

Meanwhile, as of 0:00 on the 8th, Gyeonggi Province's total confirmed cases increased by 18 from the previous day at 0:00 to 1,315 cases.(nationwide: 13,244 cases) Of the province's confirmed cases, 1,055 have been discharged, and 236 are currently isolated in hospitals and community treatment centers. As of 0:00 on the 8th, Gyeonggi Province has secured 576 confirmed patient treatment beds across 14 hospitals; 255 beds currently in use represent 44.3% of capacity.