Prime Minister Jeong Visits 1339 Call Center... "Expand and Reform Consultation System, Urge Proactive Response"

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun visited the 1339 Call Center of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, the public response center for the novel coronavirus infection (Wuhan pneumonia), on the afternoon of the 1st, and received a briefing on its operations.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwangho Lee] On the afternoon of the 1st, Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun visited the 1339 Call Center of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, the frontline of the response to the novel coronavirus infection (Wuhan pneumonia), to inspect the site and encourage the staff.

The 1339 Call Center has increased its staff from the original 19 to 126 as of this day, adding 88 personnel due to the surge in inquiries caused by the spread of the novel coronavirus. From this month, the number of counselors is planned to be expanded to around 188. Including the related institution, the National Health Insurance Service 129 Call Center, a total of about 390 personnel will be operating.

As of this day, there are 12 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in Korea, and 70 people with suspected symptoms are isolated in hospitals undergoing testing. The 12 confirmed patients are hospitalized and isolated in government-designated inpatient treatment beds and are receiving treatment. The number of contacts traced for confirmed patients up to this day is 465. Contacts of the 8th to 12th patients are still being identified, so the number is expected to increase in the future.

Prime Minister Chung first received an explanation on the current status of novel coronavirus consultations from Park Hye-mi, head of the 1339 Call Center, and checked the situation regarding the expansion of counseling personnel.

Prime Minister Chung said, "The 1339 Call Center is the communication channel through which the public can easily seek help anytime and anywhere," and urged, "Please respond proactively to the early detection and prevention of infectious diseases."

He continued, "Expanding and reorganizing the counseling system, including recruiting more counselors to respond promptly to inquiries, will greatly help prevent the spread of the infectious disease," emphasizing the importance of these measures.

He also said, "For new counselors, please continuously provide training by experienced counselors and epidemiologists dispatched from the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency to enhance expertise," and added, "To block the infectious disease, the 1339 Call Center, the Central Disease Control Headquarters, and local health centers must communicate smoothly and share information quickly."

Finally, Prime Minister Chung expressed deep gratitude for the hard work of the frontline counselors and added, "Even if there are difficulties in responding, please do your best to overcome this situation."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.