Gyeongsan additionally named special care zone over coronavirus

SEOUL, March 5 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's government on Thursday designated Gyeongsan, a southeastern city, as the nation's third "special care zone" over infectious disease in addition to two nearby cities of Daegu and Cheongdo, as new cases of the new coronavirus surged there lately.

Gyeongsan, about 330 kilometers southeast of Seoul and just east of Daegu, has recently reported a surge in new COVID-19 infections from an elderly nursing home and other places.

The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters announced the designation of Gyeongsan as a new special care zone for infectious disease, noting the city accounts for over 70 percent of new coronavirus cases in North Gyeongsang Province, which surrounds Daegu.

The government had already designated Daegu and Cheongdo, a North Gyeongsang county, as special care zones on Feb. 21.

"The additional designation of a special care zone was determined in a meeting presided over by Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun in the morning," said Vice Health Minister Kim Gang-lip.

He explained that the special zone designation means the government will take extraordinarily strong quarantine measures for the concerned areas.

As of Thursday morning, South Korea reported 5,766 coronavirus infections, with Daegu and North Gyeongsang accounting for 4,326 and 861, respectively.

ycm@yna.co.kr
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