Wearing only an open-mouthed Halloween mask … Employees work in the ‘Tuxk’ kitchen

View larger

“It’s like ‘Hell Cheol’ on Line 2 right now.”

Around 11pm on the 31st of last month during Halloween, a man said aloud at the ‘World Food Specialty Street’ in Itaewon-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul. On this day, this street in Itaewon was reminiscent of ‘Hell Cheol’, which means a crowded subway line during rush hour when citizens flocked to Halloween. It was hard enough getting out of the crowd. You have to go through the quarantine door that disinfects the entire body to enter the street, and only 150 citizens lined up in front of this door. Eight out of 10 bars on this street were open with tables on the street. Those who drank and ate at this table were almost taking off their masks.

○ Kitchen Clerk ‘Tuxk’ Caught

View larger

Quarantine authorities asked to refrain from meetings due to concerns about the reappearance of the new coronavirus infection (Corona 19), but the main entertainment district in central Seoul was packed with citizens during Halloween. On Halloween, the Dong-A Ilbo was accompanied by an offensive in Itaewon, Seoul by officials from the joint law enforcement team, including Seoul and each autonomous district. Furthermore, as a result of observing the areas of Hongik University and Gangnam Station on the 30th, the day before, it was noticed that the quarantine regulations were not observed as the crowds were overcrowded. Before Halloween, it was noted that events such as the ‘mass club infection in Itaewon’ in May were recurring. When members of the crackdown on Day 1 at 0 o’clock entered a sensitivity bar in Itaewon-dong, the owner yelled at customers. “Keep separate from each other. Wear a mask! “At that time, in the pub, about 10 patrons stood at a standing bar and two or three people formed in pairs to hug or converse closely. Some guests hastily hid out the emergency exit due to the sudden appearance of the squad. The repression squad immediately headed for the kitchen. The kitchen worker wore a mask over his chin. The owner protested vigorously, saying, “I usually put on a mask well and then take it off for a time, “but the law enforcement team decided to ban meetings here for two weeks.

On that day, the law enforcement team discovered a pub in Danran that did not have an electronic access list and a general restaurant that did not use the electronic access list. The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that it plans to issue an order banning the gathering by inspecting a total of 533 sites through a joint two-day crackdown on the 30th and 31st, including detecting that 28 of them violate quarantine regulations.

Around 8 p.m. on the 30th of last month, the streets near Hongik University in Mapo-gu, Seoul, were filled with young people in Halloween costumes or face painting. A young man who painted his face in the shape of a torn mouth walked down the street, showing his face without wearing a mask. Some people only wore open-mouthed masks and did not wear masks.

○ ‘Balloon effect’ as a bar when the club closes

During the Halloween period this year, most of the big clubs were closed, resulting in a ‘balloon effect’ that drew people to emotional bars and hunting pots. Minmo (19, female), a college student who visited Itaewon, also said, “I wanted to enjoy a Halloween party because I was a new college student, but I was scared of Corona 19, so my friend and two came to drink.” In the vicinity of Hongik University on the 30th of last month, starting at 7:30 pm, more than 30 guests lined up in front of a hunting pot. The indoor stall next door was filled with about 30 tables for 3-4 people. In this establishment there were no partitions between the tables and no space was observed between the tables. The Gangnam station neighborhood was similar. A bar with a skull at the entrance could not find vacant seats after 6:30 pm.

Kim Woo-joo, professor of infectious medicine at Korea University Guro Hospital, said, “In a situation where there was already a ‘danger flame’ due to the effect of alleviating social distancing in the first stage, the event called Halloween attracted a lot of people to increase the risk. ” “The situation is worrying because of the group infection,” he said.

Soyoung Kim [email protected] Go to reporter’s page>Reporter Lee Cheong-ah and Park Jong-min