Daegu Mayor: "Requesting the President to Invoke Emergency Order to Secure Hospital Beds"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] On the 2nd, Daegu Mayor Kwon Young-jin requested the activation of the presidential emergency decree authority to respond to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

The presidential emergency decree authority is an exclusive power of the president stipulated in Article 76 of the Constitution. It is a decree that the president can issue with the effect of law when there is no time to wait for the National Assembly to convene in cases of epidemic outbreaks, natural disasters, or serious financial and economic crises. However, the president must report to the National Assembly without delay after issuing the decree and obtain approval; if approval is not obtained, the decree loses its effect.

At a briefing that day, Mayor Kwon requested the central government to "activate the presidential emergency decree authority to secure more than 3,000 rooms as soon as possible by utilizing public training centers and large corporate training centers that can be used as residential treatment centers." He also said, "To secure medical personnel to be assigned to these facilities, please issue a mobilization order for medical staff to secure the necessary personnel early." Mayor Kwon also proposed that the National Medical Center take prompt transfer measures to secure beds for severe patients.

This request follows the government's change in the system the previous day, where only severe COVID-19 patients are hospitalized in hospitals, and mild patients are admitted to residential treatment centers prepared in state-operated facilities for treatment. The city will first operate 160 rooms at the Ministry of Education Central Education Training Center as a residential treatment center starting that day. Samsung Human Resources Development Center Yeongdeok Training Center, Nonghyup Gyeongju Education Center, and Mungyeong Seoul National University Hospital Talent Center have also been secured as residential treatment centers.

Also on that day, Mayor Kwon announced that the number of Shincheonji Church members managed by the city increased by 303 from the previous count to 10,555. Previously, the number of Shincheonji members managed independently by the city did not match the number provided by the government, so the city and the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) jointly compared individual lists and conducted transfer work.

As a result of investigating whether the additional 303 members are under self-quarantine, it was confirmed that all are currently in self-quarantine. There are still 53 members who have not been contacted as of that day, and the police are tracking their whereabouts.

Meanwhile, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as of 0:00 a.m. that day, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Daegu increased by 377 from 4:00 p.m. the previous day to reach 3,081.

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