Daegu All Pneumonia Patients to Undergo COVID-19 Testing

The 31st confirmed case of the novel coronavirus infection showed suspected symptoms and received the first medical examination at the Suseong-gu Public Health Center in Daegu City. <이미지:연합뉴스>

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] COVID-19 diagnostic testing will be conducted for all pneumonia patients in the Daegu area, where confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) have surged.

The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters announced on the 21st that it will implement this measure as part of special quarantine measures for the Daegu and Gyeongbuk regions. This action is due to the fact that most COVID-19 patients currently in isolation and receiving treatment are concentrated in the Daegu and Gyeongbuk areas. Accordingly, a full survey for COVID-19 will be conducted on pneumonia patients currently hospitalized, and newly occurring pneumonia patients will be required to undergo mandatory testing. Additionally, transferring pneumonia patients to other hospitals will be prohibited. Measures to separate or isolate pneumonia patients from general patients within hospitals will also be implemented concurrently.

Regarding the Shincheonji Daegu Church, identified as a super-spreader site, the full list of approximately 9,000 church members will be secured by today to conduct comprehensive COVID-19 testing. Authorities had secured about half of the list by the previous day. Members on the list will be placed under self-quarantine, and if difficult, facility quarantine will be arranged through places such as the Central Education Training Institute. Among the members, those assessed as high-risk, including symptomatic individuals and contacts, will be prioritized for diagnostic testing, and the rest will complete testing before quarantine is lifted. The 24 public health doctors urgently dispatched the previous day will handle the increasing specimen collection tasks going forward.

For Daenam Hospital in Cheongdo, Gyeongbuk, where medical staff infections occurred, diagnostic testing for all patients and staff will be completed by today. Psychiatric ward inpatients where confirmed cases have occurred will be transferred to the National Mental Hospital after testing negative. If additional confirmed cases arise, psychiatric ward inpatients will be moved to the National Mental Health Center, and severe patients such as those with pneumonia will be transferred to other nationally designated inpatient treatment beds. Mild patients will be assigned to Andong Medical Center.

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