Lee Jae-myung: "Situation More Serious Than Expected. Must Establish Response System for Fourth Wave"

[Suwon Ilbo=Park No-hun, Reporter] Gyeonggi Province will support the expansion of medical and administrative personnel at public health centers and implement measures for dental public health doctors to conduct specimen collection tasks in preparation for the fourth wave of COVID-19.

To prevent the spread of cluster infections among foreign nationals, the province will also implement an additional executive order requiring only foreign workers who have undergone diagnostic tests to be hired.

Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung attended a COVID-19 Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters meeting chaired by Prime Minister Jeong Sye-kyun on the morning of March 16, saying "I believe the situation is more serious than expected. We must establish a response system in preparation for the fourth wave."

Governor Lee explained the province's situation, saying "Foreign employment workplaces have peaked and are gradually declining, while cluster infections are occurring in taekwondo studios, childcare facilities, and sports facilities," and announced Gyeonggi Province's countermeasures.

The province's measures will proceed in two directions: strengthening community quarantine and enhancing community response capacity.

First, to strengthen community quarantine, the province will strengthen diagnostic testing for workplaces and workers.

To this end, the province announced that it is preparing a new executive order for employers to hire only those who have undergone diagnostic tests when hiring foreign workers, as a follow-up measure to the existing executive order making diagnostic testing mandatory for foreign nationals.

The province also noted that there are many cases of cluster infections occurring due to failure to comply with quarantine rules, such as improper mask wearing, and decided to conduct intensive inspections through unannounced checks on compliance with quarantine rules. The province also plans to mandate electronic entry and exit logs instead of handwritten records for bathhouses.

To strengthen community response capacity, the province will provide medical and administrative personnel support to public health centers.

The province noted that while public health centers currently receive some support from the Central Accident Recovery Headquarters for specimen collection personnel, staffing is insufficient due to the prolonged COVID-19 situation. The province decided to prepare a plan to support salary costs when municipal and county public health centers hire clinical laboratory technicians and temporary workers as administrative personnel.

The province plans to establish a cooperation system where all available local government capabilities support public health centers.

Governor Lee emphasized the need to expand personnel support, saying on that day "To expand specimen collection personnel, we will have dental public health doctors conduct specimen collection tasks." Accordingly, the province delivered related documents to each city and county on March 8.

The province also decided to review measures to expand proactive periodic testing at infection-vulnerable facilities.

The province is currently conducting weekly tests only for long-term care and psychiatric hospital staff, staff at nursing facilities and facilities for people with severe disabilities, staff at homeless facilities, and staff at oriental medicine and rehabilitation hospitals. The province is reviewing expanding the scope to include childcare centers and kindergartens, postpartum care centers, meat processing workers, construction sites, and sports facility staff. Specific targets for proactive testing have not yet been confirmed.

An official from the Gyeonggi Province COVID-19 Emergency Response Team explained the background for establishing the measures, saying "COVID-19 shows an increasing trend as small and medium-sized business outbreaks, increases in confirmed cases among foreign nationals, and consistent outbreaks at indoor sports facilities and childcare facilities continue to occur. Through quarantine activities thus far, other sites have undergone institutional improvements and accumulated experience, but workplaces have relatively not, requiring intensive management and support for them."