Suwon City Establishes 'High School Senior Reopening Response System' — First Among Local Governments Nationwide

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Seo Dong-young] Ahead of the reopening of schools for high school seniors on the 20th, Suwon City has established a COVID-19 response system together with relevant institutions, the first among local governments nationwide.

On the 18th, four institutions — Suwon City, the Suwon Office of Education, Suwon Fire Station, and Suwon Nambu Fire Station — held the 'Joint Response Agreement Ceremony Among Related Institutions for COVID-19 Response During In-Person School Attendance' at the City Hall situation room.

Attending the ceremony were Suwon Mayor Yeom Tae-young, Suwon Superintendent of Education Lee Hyung-woo, Suwon Fire Station Chief Lim Jeong-ho, and Suwon Nambu Fire Station Chief Lee Jeong-rae, who shared the situation regarding the start of school attendance amid the COVID-19 outbreak and exchanged views on securing students' safety.

The agreement consists of the four institutions' pledge to jointly respond to COVID-19 and the division of each institution's role should a situation arise.

First, the four institutions agreed to establish a hotline (Hot-Line) to build an advance cooperation system and to actively share information related to infectious diseases.

In particular, Suwon City will strengthen everyday-life quarantine supervision and inspection of multi-use facilities near schools, while the Suwon Office of Education will make special efforts to ensure school members comply with quarantine rules in preparation for students' attendance.

Also, should a suspected patient arise at a school, the fire stations within the district will support swift transport and necessary measures, and all agreement institutions pledged to make efforts to prevent further spread through in-school quarantine activities.

Superintendent Lee Hyung-woo said, "I am grateful to Suwon City and the fire stations for their support in ensuring that students in the Suwon area can be safely protected from COVID-19," adding, "We will prepare the best possible measures so that students can maintain everyday-life quarantine as much as possible, and do our utmost to ensure safe school life even after the reopening."

Mayor Yeom Tae-young said, "Today's agreement is intended to have the four institutions establish airtight quarantine measures," adding, "Let us continue inter-institutional cooperation so that not a single child is exposed to COVID-19 and suffers harm to body and mind."