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| On the morning of the 30th, taxis are lined up in front of Seoul Station. 2020.12.30/News1 © News1 Reporter Kiseon Hwang |
As there are additional confirmed cases of taxi drivers in Seoul, anxiety over public transportation is growing.
According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government on the 7th, after the collective infection of a taxi company in Gangnam-gu, five taxi drivers in other autonomous districts in Seoul were also confirmed by a new coronavirus infection (Corona 19) test.
The new confirmed cases came from two taxi company drivers in Seocho-gu, and one each from Eunpyeong-gu, Seodaemun-gu, and Mapo-gu.
Earlier, in the case of a taxi company located in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, a total of 10 people, including the company’s taxi driver and employees, were tested positive for Corona 19 after the company’s employee was first confirmed on the 23rd of last month. Eight of these are taxi drivers.
The confirmed case of a taxi company located in Gangnam-gu was discovered through a preemptive inspection for workers in the transportation industry in Seoul. Given this situation, the city of Seoul increases the amount of preemptive inspection for taxi drivers through temporary screening clinics and public health centers.
On the 7th, Seoul will operate a’visiting mobile screening clinic’ at the Yangcheon-gu welfare center. In the mobile screening clinic you visit, a pre-emptive test is absolutely necessary, but you are directly visiting facilities and organizations that have difficulty getting tests for reasons such as shift work or movement restrictions, and are conducting Corona 19 tests.
The problem is that it is difficult for taxi drivers to conduct mass inspections in one place, unlike logistics companies and nursing facilities. Due to the nature of the work, there is a clear limit to performing mass inspections in specific places because movement and shift work are repeated.
According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, as of the 6th, 20,000 taxi drivers were tested for Corona 19 through public health centers and 56 screening clinics.
There are a total of 74,000 taxi drivers in the Seoul area, including 25,000 (255 locations) belonging to the corporate taxi association and 49,000 individual taxi drivers. Of these, only about 30% had undergone preemptive inspection.
For this reason, there are no sharp measures other than strict adherence to quarantine regulations, such as wearing masks, for both taxi drivers and passengers.
Seoul Taxi Logistics Manager Kim Ki-bong said, “By entering the passenger’s phone number into the card payment machine and issuing a cash receipt, the method of issuing a cash receipt by entering the passenger’s phone number on the card payment machine, and the method of scanning the QR code of the electronic access list with the driver’s mobile phone, etc., will be introduced through a regular briefing on the 7th. “He said, “We are currently in discussions with related organizations.”