Supreme Council Member Yeom Tae-young: "As the Epidemic Drags On, We Need to Review Frontline Quarantine Personnel"

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Seo Dong-young] Suwon Mayor Yeom Tae-young, a Supreme Council member of the Democratic Party, expressed concern in his opening remarks at the party's 45th Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 7th, saying, "Social distancing in the metropolitan area is being raised to Level 2.5 until the end of the year. Over the past four days, more than 600 confirmed cases have emerged, and it is a great worry how far this will continue."

He continued, "Of the roughly 37,000 cumulative confirmed cases, about 29,000 have fully recovered, but they are experiencing difficulties returning to society," emphasizing the need for careful consideration and follow-up measures so that recovered patients can return to society.

He also expressed concern about the fatigue of quarantine personnel, including medical staff and public officials, who are struggling on the front lines against COVID-19.

Mayor Yeom voiced concern, saying, "There is even a survey result showing that 80% of epidemiological investigators are already in a state of emotional exhaustion. Local public officials, too, have worked for nearly a year through superhuman overtime and extreme tension, and their mental stress has reached its limit. It is a precarious situation that could lead to post-traumatic stress disorder if appropriate remedies are not prepared."

He then pointed out, "The fatigue among substitute quarantine personnel is considerable. With the passage of the 'Three COVID Laws' this past February, basic local governments are now able to have epidemiological investigators, but they are bound by low pay regulations for local public officials, making it impossible to hire experts with a background as physicians."

Mayor Yeom Tae-young explained, "National public officials can be assigned salaries at their own discretion up to 200% of the minimum annual salary, whereas local public officials cannot do so. The same standards applied to national public officials should be made applicable to local public officials as well, so that they can actively respond to COVID measures."

He continued, "In long-term quarantine response, the most important resource is medical and quarantine personnel. It is urgent to prepare systematic and practical measures so that they can work without becoming exhausted. I call on the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters and the Ministry of Health and Welfare to urgently prepare recovery programs for medical and quarantine personnel, as well as measures to deploy substitute personnel."