OPERATION OF GANGNEUNG HOTEL SUSPENDED

[Anchor Lead]

As vacation spots become packed with people looking to escape the prolonged heat wave, a hotel in Gangneung was hit with an operation suspension order for holding a pool party in violation of disease control measures. Authorities found the party-goers without masks and not social-distancing.

[Pkg]

Participants of a hotel pool party hurriedly pack up and leave the premises. Dozens were in violation of mask-wearing and social distancing rules. Prior to the crackdown, Gangneung government workers visited the hotel and issued an administrative order that bans parties, but the establishment went ahead with the plan. Subsequently, the hotel was slapped with a 10-day operation suspension.

[Soundbite] Kim Han-geun(Gangneung Mayor) : "It’s ludicrous that they planned a pool party in the first place. So we were compelled to issue this administrative order to suspend operation."

The facility is allegedly seeking countermeasures, which prompted the Gangneung government to consider reporting the hotel to the police. The most concerning issue is that the number of vacationers coming to Gangwon-do beaches is spiking amid the peak vacation season. Around 930,000 people visited 82 beaches along the province’s east coast over the last two days. That's more than double the number of the previous week, and a record high for this summer. Since more than half of the new cases in Gangwon-do for the past week came from the province’s east coast areas, authorities advise both residents and visitors to not lower their guards until the vacation season is over.