Due to the Spread of Novel Coronavirus... "I Won't Go to Large Hospitals"

Waiting Room in Front of Administration Office Quiet
Outpatients and Scheduled Patients Decrease by 10%
Mild Patients Show Larger Decline
Experience of MERS Nosocomial Infection Fear
Pharmacy Customers Also Decrease by About 30%

Waiting room in front of the Administration Department at Severance Hospital, Sinchon, Seoul, on the morning of the 11th

[Asia Economy Reporters Choi Dae-yeol and Lee Jung-yoon] Around 11 a.m. on the 10th, Severance Hospital in Sinchon, Seoul, was unusually quiet during what should have been a busy time. Even the outpatient waiting room in front of the administration office, which is usually packed with patients, had many empty seats. The usual scene of waiting over an hour despite having an appointment was nowhere to be seen. The daily life changes brought by the novel coronavirus infection (Wuhan pneumonia) were evident at Severance Hospital that day.

◆Decrease in Outpatients After Novel Coronavirus = Min Kyung-min (28), who visited the hospital due to asthma, said, "This is the first time I have seen so few people at Severance Hospital," adding, "I was hesitant to postpone my appointment because of the novel coronavirus, but I had no choice but to visit to get my medication. I am refraining from touching my face just in case." Lee Pil-su (65) expressed, "Since Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) was transmitted within hospitals, I am worried that a similar situation might occur with the novel coronavirus, so I am reluctant to visit hospitals."

The situation was similar in the waiting room of Gangbuk Samsung Hospital in Seodaemun. The number of patients visiting has continued to decline since the spread of the novel coronavirus. A pharmacist at a nearby pharmacy said, "Since news of the novel coronavirus spread, the number of customers visiting the pharmacy has decreased by about 30%. Only patients who need regular medication visits, and there are almost no new customers." Most large hospitals reported a decrease in patients. A representative from Chung-Ang University Hospital stated, "Since the spread of the novel coronavirus, outpatient and appointment patients have decreased by about 10%."

The reduction in patients visiting hospitals appears to reflect the fear of nosocomial infections experienced during the 2015 MERS outbreak. At that time, it was revealed that most confirmed cases were exposed to the virus in hospitals, leading to avoidance of large hospitals during infectious disease outbreaks. Patient number 14, considered a "super-spreader," contacted about 600 people in the hospital emergency room and transmitted the virus to 85 individuals.

◆30% Drop in Tertiary Hospitals During MERS = According to a thesis by Lee Sun-jung from Seoul National University Graduate School of Public Health, which studied changes in outpatient medical visits before and after the MERS outbreak, the number of hospital visits decreased by about 14% from early June to mid-July 2015, when MERS was rampant. The decrease was especially significant among mild patients at large hospitals such as tertiary general hospitals (-30.2%) and general hospitals (-23.7%) based on health insurance subscribers. Lee explained, "Most MERS confirmed cases occurred in tertiary general and general hospitals, leading to closures of these hospitals and patients avoiding visits to prevent MERS infection, which can be seen as the main cause."

Hospitals are generally considered vulnerable to virus infections because many patients have weakened immune systems. Medical staff are also at high risk of exposure to viruses. This is why suspected infectious patients are first examined at screening clinics set up outside hospitals. Experts explain that hospitals are doing their best to prevent in-hospital virus transmission, so there is no need for excessive concern. Professor Son Jang-wook of the Department of Infectious Diseases at Korea University Anam Hospital said, "Hospitals learned from the MERS outbreak and are now working to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus through measures such as checking overseas travel history, hand sanitization, and thermal imaging cameras. Except for those with overseas travel history, there is no need to avoid hospital visits unnecessarily."

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