'Priority Response to Shincheonji' Guidelines Increased Casualties

Reorganization of Treatment System Delayed While Focusing Quarantine Efforts on Shincheonji
Treatment of Mild Patients in Separate Facilities...New Facilities Accommodate 160 People, One-Twentieth of Daegu Patients

In the morning of the 1st, a firefighter supporting patient transport at Duryu Water Purification Plant in Dalseo-gu, Daegu, is adjusting his protective gear.

[Asia Economy Reporters Choi Dae-yeol, Kim Heung-soon, Jo Hyun-ui] As quarantine authorities concentrated their efforts on the Shincheonji Church of Jesus in Daegu to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), blind spots emerged, leading to increased casualties. Elderly patients or those with underlying conditions should have been quickly identified and intensively treated, but since diagnostic testing was focused mainly on Shincheonji members, urgent patients were not promptly addressed.

The government decided from the 2nd to accommodate and treat COVID-19 confirmed patients with mild or almost no symptoms in separate facilities instead of hospitalization and isolation treatment, but the situation remains difficult. The newly prepared facilities can only accommodate 160 people, which is about one-twentieth of the total patients in the Daegu area, and it is expected to take considerable time to assess the severity of each patient to determine hospitalization.

Blind Spots Emerged During Shincheonji Comprehensive Survey

According to the Central Disease Control Headquarters and Daegu City, as of this morning, the number of patients in the Daegu area reached 3,081, an increase of 377 from the previous day. In Daegu, the rapid surge in patients over a short period reportedly resulted in most patients being unable to be hospitalized. According to Daegu City, about 1,600 patients, two-thirds of all confirmed cases, had not been hospitalized by the previous day, and considering that most newly confirmed patients today are also waiting for hospitalization, approximately 2,000 patients remain at home after being confirmed positive.

Not only are there no negative pressure isolation beds, but even infectious disease-dedicated hospitals designated specifically for treating COVID-19 patients have been added to receive patients; however, the shortage of beds is expected to continue for the time being. After confirming the spread of the infectious disease centered on the Shincheonji Daegu Church, the target was expanded to include Shincheonji members locally and in other regions, but while quarantine authorities focused their efforts on Shincheonji to trace infection routes, the reorganization of the treatment system was delayed.

Oh Myung-don, Chair of the Central Clinical Committee on Emerging Infectious Diseases (Professor of Infectious Diseases at Seoul National University Hospital), said at a briefing the day before, "It has been about 3 to 4 weeks since the super-spreader event at the Shincheonji Daegu Church. Among those initially infected, some have recovered and are no longer infectious, but conducting a comprehensive survey including such individuals raises questions about what can be expected." He added, "(From the medical staff's perspective) the timing of symptom onset is very important data, but currently, quarantine personnel seem unable to generate such data because they are busy tracking individual clusters like Shincheonji."

On the morning of the 2nd, bedding intended for mild COVID-19 patients was piled up at the Creative Hall of the Central Education Training Institute, Ministry of Education, in Sinseo-dong, Dong-gu, Daegu.

As the number of COVID-19 confirmed cases increased, Daegu City decided to accommodate and treat mild cases at the Central Education Training Institute starting from this day.

Thousands Waiting, but Living Treatment Centers Accommodate Only 160

To allow frontline medical staff to focus on treating severe patients, mild patients began to be sequentially admitted to 'Living Treatment Centers' starting today. Located at the Ministry of Education Central Training Institute in Dong-gu, Daegu, mild patients will receive treatment in these separately prepared isolation facilities.

The problem is that although isolation facilities were prepared belatedly, they are still insufficient to accommodate thousands of mild patients. The Central Training Institute, which started accepting mild patients today, can accommodate 160 people, and additional facilities such as the Seoul National University Hospital Talent Center in Mungyeong and the Samsung Human Resources Development Center in Yeongdeok, Gyeongbuk, have been secured, but they can only accommodate a few hundred patients with about 100 and 300 rooms respectively.

Analysis of domestic and international patient data by medical staff who have treated COVID-19 patients in Korea estimates that less than 20% of infected patients show severe or critical symptoms. The remaining 80% exhibit mild symptoms such as fever or cough or almost no symptoms. A significant number of patients require no even simple medication, yet these patients are receiving inpatient treatment, causing severe or critical patients to be unable to be hospitalized and treated in time.

Among the deceased in Daegu due to COVID-19, including a 74-year-old man (the 13th death) who died on the 27th of last month, five patients (the 13th, 14th, 20th, 21st, and 22nd deaths) died after their symptoms worsened without being hospitalized following confirmation. Additionally, three patients (the 9th, 12th, and 16th deaths) were confirmed positive posthumously. Those confirmed after death had been hospitalized for other illnesses or were at home and later went to the emergency room but similarly did not receive timely treatment.

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