120 Negative Pressure Isolation Rooms Established... Free Mask Support for Vulnerable Groups

2.3 Trillion KRW Supplementary Budget to Strengthen Quarantine
Negative Pressure Ambulances Increased Fourfold to 192 Units
Budget Allocation for Expanding KCDC Equipment

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun is visiting the Suwon Hospital of Gyeonggi Provincial Medical Center on the morning of the 8th, a holiday, to inspect the negative pressure isolation rooms. <이미지:Yonhap News>

[Asia Economy Reporters Choi Dae-yeol, Kim Heung-soon, Jo Hyun-ui] 120 new negative pressure isolation rooms will be created to treat patients with severe infectious diseases. This measure comes in response to criticism that the shortage of hospital beds amid the surge in COVID-19 patients led to increased casualties.

According to the supplementary budget proposal submitted to the temporary Cabinet meeting on the 4th, 2.3 trillion KRW will be invested to strengthen the infectious disease response system. Of this, 30 billion KRW will be used to increase the number of nationally designated negative pressure isolation rooms from the current 161 to 281. Negative pressure rooms are facilities that maintain lower air pressure inside the isolated space where patients stay, preventing internal air from escaping outside, and are used to treat infectious disease patients.

Negative Pressure Isolation Rooms Expanded from 161 to 281

The nationally designated negative pressure rooms currently number 161 rooms (198 beds), and including regional base hospitals and private hospitals, there are a total of 793 rooms (1,077 beds) nationwide. In the early stages of COVID-19, when patient numbers were in the tens, all patients were isolated and treated in negative pressure rooms. However, as cases exploded rapidly in Daegu and Gyeongbuk, it became impossible to accommodate all patients, and currently, these rooms are used mainly for patients with severe symptoms. The number of nationally designated negative pressure rooms, which was about 31 during the 2015 Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) outbreak, has steadily increased since then, but when cases surge rapidly in a specific region as this time, bed shortages inevitably arise.

The number of negative pressure ambulances used to transport infectious disease patients will also increase from the current 46 to 192 units. Including 13 general ambulances, a total of 30.1 billion KRW will be spent. The government will purchase these in bulk and deploy them to frontline public health centers. Additionally, to prepare for future emerging infectious diseases, two regional infectious disease specialized hospitals with more than 36 beds each will be added in the Yeongnam and central regions. Currently, there is only one such hospital in the non-capital regions, located in Honam. Equipment purchases, such as distributing negative pressure carriers to about 40 airports and quarantine stations, will be covered by contingency funds.

To enhance the capacity of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), which serves as the control tower for 'quarantine operations,' 9.8 billion KRW has been allocated to expand testing and analysis equipment such as centrifuges. A separate virus research institute will also be established for preliminary research on zoonotic emerging viruses like the current coronavirus. For the first year, this year, about 3 billion KRW will be spent on basic planning and equipment procurement.

Due to the impact of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), a temporary closure notice is posted at a restaurant in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 4th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

Free Mask Support for Vulnerable Groups

To compensate frontline medical institutions for losses incurred while treating COVID-19 patients, 350 billion KRW has been allocated, and for medical institutions facing financial difficulties, a loan fund of 400 billion KRW will also be provided as part of this plan. Infectious disease dedicated hospitals face potential losses due to having to discharge existing patients and difficulties in treating general patients. Actual compensation will be reviewed and implemented after the COVID-19 situation is resolved.

Additionally, 80 billion KRW will be invested in living support expenses for hospitalized and isolated patients, and paid leave support costs for employers during paid leave. Regarding masks, 130 million units will be provided free of charge to vulnerable groups including healthcare workers, daycare centers, kindergartens, elementary schools, and low-income households. 8.98 million units will be supplied first to Daegu and Gyeongbuk. Dispatch allowances of 14.8 billion KRW for private medical personnel dispatched to Daegu and Gyeongbuk, and 4.9 billion KRW for volunteer personnel expenses will be spent from contingency funds to ensure prompt support.

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