Prime Minister Jeong: "New Plan for Securing Hospital Beds in Daegu... Will Be Submitted to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters"

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun (right) is having a meeting with Daegu Mayor Kwon Young-jin at Daegu City Hall on the 1st.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwangho Lee] Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said on the 1st regarding the shortage of isolation beds in Daegu, where COVID-19 cases are rapidly increasing, "I think we need to come up with some new measures."

On the same day, Prime Minister Chung met with Daegu Mayor Kwon Young-jin at Daegu City Hall and stated, "I judged that we cannot continue with the policies we have been implementing so far, so the day before yesterday, I asked the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety to come up with a plan, and that plan will be presented at today's Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters meeting."

So far, Daegu City and the medical community have proposed to the government a plan to prepare temporary facilities to monitor mild patients, similar to the approach taken for Korean residents from Wuhan, China, in order to resolve the bed shortage issue.

Prime Minister Chung mentioned, "It seems necessary to establish proper criteria so that severe patients or those who need immediate medical services can be quickly admitted to hospitals." In response, Mayor Kwon requested, "Please take measures to transfer at least the severe patients to hospitals in Seoul or other areas."

Prime Minister Chung explained, "Starting tomorrow, there will be a government questioning session at the National Assembly. If they ask me to come, I will go," adding, "So for now, I will preside over today's Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters meeting and do what I can according to the decisions made by the National Assembly."

Since the 25th of last month, Prime Minister Chung has been stationed in Daegu, leading the government's COVID-19 response as the head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters. The National Assembly will conduct government questioning sessions over three days from the 2nd to the 4th, summoning Prime Minister Chung and other cabinet members to review major national issues. Although the ruling and opposition parties initially agreed that only Prime Minister Chung would attend on the first day of questioning, as the COVID-19 situation in the Daegu and Gyeongbuk regions worsened, there is disagreement between the parties on whether to summon Prime Minister Chung, who is leading the response, to the National Assembly.

In this regard, Mayor Kwon said, "The National Assembly has its own schedule, but I think it would be better to minimize the government questioning and allow the Prime Minister to lead the quarantine efforts," adding, "I will convey this intention where possible."

Prime Minister Chung also said, "China has offered to send 100,000 masks, 1,000 protective suits, and hand sanitizers, and I told them to send these to Mayor Kwon of Daegu City," adding, "Since these items come with their sincerity, I hope they will be well utilized for the citizens once they arrive."

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