Yim Tae-young, Top Democratic Party Member: "Prolonged Infectious Disease Requires Checking Personnel at Quarantine Sites"

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Seo Dong-young] Yim Tae-young, Suwon Mayor and top member of the Democratic Party, expressed concern at the 45th top-level meeting of the Democratic Party held in the National Assembly on the 7th, stating in his opening remarks: "The social distancing measure for the Seoul metropolitan area is being elevated to Level 2.5 until the end of the year. Over the past four days, more than 600 confirmed cases have been reported, but there is no small concern about how long this will continue."

He continued, "Of the cumulative 37,000 confirmed cases, 29,000 have recovered, but they are facing difficulties in returning to society," emphasizing the need for careful consideration and follow-up measures to enable confirmed cases to reintegrate into society.

He also expressed concern about the fatigue of medical personnel and civil servants on the frontlines of COVID-19 who are struggling to contain the disease.

Mayor Yim stated, "There is survey data showing that 80% of epidemiological investigators are already in a state of emotional exhaustion. Local civil servants have also been working for nearly a year in a state of superhuman overtime and extreme tension, and their mental stress has reached its peak. If appropriate remedial measures are not put in place, this could lead to post-traumatic stress disorder—a precarious situation."

He went on to say, "The fatigue of alternative quarantine personnel is significant. With the passage of the 'Corona Three Bills' in February, basic local governments were also able to hire epidemiological investigators, but we are constrained by low compensation regulations for local civil servants and cannot hire doctors with expertise."

Mayor Yim Tae-young explained, "While national civil servants can set salaries up to 200% of the minimum salary ceiling at their discretion, local civil servants cannot do the same. We need to apply the same standards as national civil servants to local civil servants so they can actively respond to COVID-19 measures."

He added, "In long-term quarantine response, the most important resource is medical and quarantine personnel. There is an urgent need for systematic and practical measures to ensure these personnel do not become exhausted. The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters and the Ministry of Health and Welfare must urgently establish recovery programs for medical and quarantine personnel as well as measures for deploying alternative personnel."