President Moon vows "Never forget dedication" to military medical staff supporting COVID-19 response

President Moon Jae-in is talking with officials after observing the screening clinic training of newly commissioned second lieutenants at the Armed Forces Nursing Academy in Yuseong-gu, Daejeon Metropolitan City on the afternoon of the 2nd.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Son Sun-hee] On the 2nd, President Moon Jae-in expressed his pride and admiration for the military medical personnel deployed to respond to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), saying, "As president, I am very proud and proud of the military," and "I will always remember the military's dedication in responding to this situation."

Kang Min-seok, spokesperson for the Blue House, conveyed in a written briefing that President Moon, who visited the Armed Forces Daejeon Hospital located in Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, said, "The public's trust in our military will increase, and it will feel very reassuring." The Armed Forces Daejeon Hospital has been converted and operated as a national infectious disease specialized hospital to support the treatment of COVID-19 patients in the Daegu and Gyeongbuk regions.

President Moon particularly watched the demonstration of the "drive-through specimen collection" conducted outside the hospital building and said, "It is a groundbreaking method that is receiving global attention in specimen collection," adding, "It could be set up outdoors on a sports field without necessarily being in a hospital."

The drive-through specimen collection method involves suspected patients not getting out of their cars, with medical personnel collecting specimens from outside the vehicle. Lee Jae-hyuk, director of the Armed Forces Daejeon Hospital, explained, "The specimen collection time, which usually took 30 minutes to an hour, has been reduced to 5 minutes." Lee Nam-woo, director of personnel and welfare at the Ministry of National Defense, added, "Since the test is conducted inside the vehicle and the patient immediately returns home for self-quarantine, it has the advantage of minimizing the number of contacts."

President Moon's visit on this day was to encourage the military medical personnel deployed to support COVID-19 patient treatment and the newly commissioned nursing officers from the Armed Forces Nursing Academy who are about to be dispatched to Daegu. The 75 newly commissioned nursing officers, originally scheduled to be commissioned next week, will advance their commissioning ceremony to the 3rd in order to be immediately dispatched to Daegu, which is suffering from a shortage of medical staff.

President Moon said, "I am truly proud and proud that the commissioning ceremony is being moved up and they are rushing straight to the (Daegu quarantine) site," adding, "On one hand, I feel sorry, and on the other hand, I feel apologetic for making those taking their first steps into society do such difficult work. I thank you on behalf of the people." He continued, "I hope they complete their role as a shield quickly and return to the military," and reiterated his gratitude, saying, "I will not forget their dedication. I will definitely remember it."

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