1180 Mild COVID-19 Patients Sent to Living Centers... "Capacity to Increase Up to 4000"

Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters Reveals Status of Mild Patient Treatment Facilities
Government: "1,180 Admitted to Living Treatment Centers... Capacity to Expand to 4,000"

On the 8th, medical staff at Yangcheon-gu Seonam Hospital are moving a confirmed COVID-19 patient, who was transported by ambulance from the Daegu Gyeongbuk area, into the hospital.

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] The government announced on the 8th that patients infected with the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) but exhibiting mild symptoms account for about 90% of all confirmed cases in the country. So far, more than 1,000 people have been admitted to living treatment centers for mild patients, and plans are underway to increase the capacity to around 4,000 by expanding facilities and medical staff.

The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters held a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun on the same day to discuss these matters. Living treatment centers are dedicated treatment facilities for mild patients, established to ensure that severe patients in Daegu and Gyeongbuk?where cases surged rapidly?receive timely treatment. In the early stages, when patient numbers were low, all COVID-19 patients could be hospitalized in isolation beds for treatment. However, as cases increased, bed shortages meant many patients had to self-isolate and wait even after confirmation. According to Daegu city, as of that morning, about 2,200 people had not been hospitalized.

According to the Disaster and Safety Headquarters, as of 10 a.m. that day, there are 10 living treatment centers nationwide in regions including Daegu, Gyeongbuk, Chungnam, and Chungbuk, with a total of 1,180 people admitted. Among them, 71 new admissions included 4 patients transferred from hospitals due to mild symptoms and 67 patients who had been self-isolating due to lack of beds. One existing patient was transferred to Cheonan Medical Center due to abdominal pain, resulting in a net increase of 70 patients compared to the previous day.

The Central Education Training Institute in Daegu was the first to open, followed by centers at Yeongdeok Samsung Human Resources Development Center, Gyeongju Nonghyup Education Center, Mungyeong Seoul National University Hospital Talent Center, covering the Daegu and Gyeongbuk areas, as well as centers at the Korea Post Officials Training Institute (Cheonan) and National Pension Service Cheongpung Resort (Jecheon). The dormitory of Gyeongbuk National University in Daegu is preparing to admit 490 people.

On the 8th, at the 'COVID-19 Daegu 1 Living Treatment Center' set up at the Central Education Training Institute in Dong-gu, Daegu, medical staff, military, fire, and health authorities waved their hands to see off discharged patients who were admitted as mild cases and have been released from quarantine.

There have also been cases of patients fully recovering after receiving treatment. The government reported that 36 patients?24 from the Central Education Training Institute and 12 from the Nonghyup Education Center?tested negative after specimen collection and are scheduled to be discharged soon. After discharge, local health centers will receive the lists of these individuals for monitoring.

Currently, the 10 designated living treatment centers have dispatched 171 medical personnel, including 41 doctors, 66 nurses, and 51 nursing assistants. Medical staff have been sent from major general hospitals such as Seoul National University Hospital, Korea University Hospital, Samsung Seoul Hospital, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, as well as Hallym Hospital and Chilgok Kyungpook National University Hospital. On the 9th, living treatment centers at the National Health Insurance Service Human Resources Development Institute (Jecheon) and LG Display Gumi Dormitory will also begin operations.

Park Neung-hoo, First Deputy Director of the Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (Minister of Health and Welfare), stated at the briefing, "About 90% of mild patients who do not require medical treatment in a hospital setting are admitted to living treatment centers where medical staff continuously monitor and protect them. As of today, living treatment centers have expanded to 2,500 capacity across 10 centers, and we plan to increase this to protect up to 4,000 people."

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