Eunpyeong-gu Leads Seoul Districts in COVID-19 Treatment and Specimen Testing Frequency

Revealed in Seoul City COVID-19 Infectious Disease Management Resource Group and Public Health Medical Foundation Statistics... Results of Active Guidance at Screening Clinics and Systematic Medical Care and Specimen Testing System

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] If you suspect that you have contracted the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), you will visit the screening clinics set up in each autonomous district for medical consultation and specimen testing.

Accordingly, while the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases is increasing, this also indicates that medical consultations and testing are being conducted efficiently. Foreign media have also been continuously reporting that Korea’s COVID-19 medical consultation and specimen testing system is well established.

On the 5th, the Seoul Infectious Disease Management Support Group released statistics on COVID-19 related medical consultations and specimen testing at Seoul’s screening clinics. As of March 1, Eunpyeong-gu (Mayor Kim Mi-kyung) ranked first among all autonomous districts with 1,346 medical consultations and 1,059 specimen tests.

In terms of medical consultation rankings, Seocho-gu ranked second with 1,233 cases, and Gangnam-gu ranked third with 1,105 cases. For specimen testing, Gangnam-gu was second with 807 tests, followed by Guro-gu with 605 tests.

The reason Eunpyeong-gu was able to conduct the highest number of COVID-19 medical consultations and specimen tests among autonomous districts lies in the systematic operation of its screening clinics and public health centers. The district operates a total of two outdoor screening clinic buildings within the district office to prevent possible infections. To accommodate residents waiting in cold weather, they installed eight single-person waiting tents, three portable restrooms, ten tents, four outdoor gas heaters, and 60 chairs. The district office plaza parking lot was also closed.

Additionally, in cooperation with Seoul City, a situation room was established inside Eunpyeong St. Mary’s Hospital to promptly respond to disinfection, patient management, and hospital infections. The existing staff at the public health center were reorganized into a COVID-19 system to enable rapid and focused response. Furthermore, the district operates a ‘Joint Management Task Force’ where district team leaders monitor active surveillance subjects and self-quarantine individuals on a one-to-one basis.

They also focused on public communication. They produced 300,000 COVID-19 information leaflets, which 237 district and neighborhood team leaders personally distributed in designated areas from February 26 to 28, and placed them throughout the community, including apartment complexes.

Moreover, through Eunpyeong-gu’s newsletter, Eunpyeong Naeil News, they promoted intensive COVID-19 treatment and specimen investigation via SMS application and text message services for disaster alerts.

Kim Mi-kyung, Mayor of Eunpyeong-gu, stated, “We are protecting residents’ safety through quarantine, prevention, and systematic specimen testing,” and added, “We ask residents to avoid crowded places for the time being and to strictly follow personal hygiene and prevention guidelines.”

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