Incheon City Proposes Building a Specialized Infectious Disease Hospital in Yeongjong with an Airport

Mayor Park Namchun's Visit to Incheon on the 2nd: Proposal to Prime Minister Jeong Seyeon
Special Transport from Airport to Residence and Strict Self-Quarantine Management

An asymptomatic foreigner who arrived on a passenger flight from London, UK, is undergoing a COVID-19 diagnostic test at an open screening clinic (Open Walking Thru type) set up in the outdoor area of Terminal 2 at Incheon International Airport. 2020.3.26 / Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] Incheon City has proposed to the government the need to build a specialized infectious disease general hospital in the Yeongjong area, where the airport is located.

According to the city on the 3rd, Mayor Park Namchun made this request to Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun, who visited Choeun High School in Seo-gu, Incheon, the day before to inspect remote education sites.

Mayor Park emphasized that "due to the global spread of COVID-19 and the recent surge in confirmed cases among overseas arrivals, facilities such as a specialized infectious disease general hospital are essential for patient treatment, rapid testing, and a quarantine system to minimize community contact," highlighting that the Yeongjong area, which has an international airport, is the most suitable location.

In fact, major overseas airport cities such as Tokyo Omori Hospital, New York Presbyterian Hospital, Germany's Charit? Hospital, and Japan's National General Hospital operate specialized infectious disease hospitals equipped with emergency medical systems to prepare for aviation disasters or infectious disease inflows.

Meanwhile, Incheon City is focusing administrative efforts on strengthening quarantine systems for overseas arrivals and preventing confirmed patients from contacting the community in line with the government amid the spread of COVID-19.

Since the 2nd of last month, before confirmed cases from Europe appeared, the city has been conducting thorough testing and strict quarantine management for all Incheon citizens arriving from overseas, and has implemented special transportation measures starting from the airport.

The city also strictly manages and protects asymptomatic individuals who show no abnormal symptoms during airport quarantine and are self-isolated for 14 days after returning home to prevent community contact.

In particular, a dedicated transportation bus for overseas arrivals is operated to allow them to move directly to military/district screening clinics for testing.

The transportation bus can be boarded six times a day at Incheon Airport T2 and T1 terminals, and upon arrival at Incheon National University Station, passengers are accompanied by local government officials to health center screening clinics or drive-through screening centers for testing. Afterwards, they take a vehicle prepared by the district to return home.

On the 1st, when the mandatory 2-week self-quarantine for all incoming travelers from abroad began, a notice informing that Incheon city buses are not available was installed at Terminal 1 of Incheon International Airport. 2020.4.1 / Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

The city also designates dedicated officials for self-quarantined individuals in cooperation with military and district offices, and operates a Geographic Information System (GIS) integrated dashboard to monitor and respond to any violations in real time.

There are plans to operate a resident reporting system using the Safe Report app and a reporting center, and strong measures such as immediate legal action will be taken against violations of self-quarantine.

For citizens who find self-quarantine difficult, two temporary isolation facilities?the Human Resources Development Institute and the Youth Training Center?have been in operation since the 25th of last month. Incheon citizens who have difficulty self-isolating due to poor living conditions or living with severely ill family members can be admitted to these facilities for isolation.

Mayor Park said, "Since Incheon has an airport with frequent international arrivals and departures, we have responded thoroughly with citizens from the early stages of COVID-19," adding, "We will actively cooperate with the government to prevent the domestic inflow of infectious diseases."

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