980,000 Vulnerable Elderly Checked for Suspected COVID-19 Symptoms via Phone

Medical staff from the Goesan County Health Center in Chungbuk are preparing to collect village visit specimens in Ogari, Jangyeon-myeon last month.

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced on the 7th that it will check for suspected symptoms of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) by phone for approximately 980,000 elderly people aged 65 and over who receive home health care services.

At public health centers, dedicated home health care personnel such as nurses have been visiting vulnerable groups directly at their homes to provide health consultation services, including measuring blood pressure and blood sugar levels. In response to the spread of COVID-19, services have been reduced or scaled down regionally since the end of February. Recently, it was judged that there could be limitations in confirming COVID-19 symptoms or managing alone, especially for elderly living alone, so they decided to start health management services by contacting them via phone.

The target group includes elderly people aged 65 and over living alone and households of elderly couples aged 75 and over. These groups are considered high-risk for COVID-19. Until the situation eases, regular phone calls will be made to check for symptoms, and if infection is suspected, they will be informed to visit screening clinics immediately. The Ministry of Health and Welfare has sent response guidelines containing step-by-step procedures for symptom checking, follow-up actions, and result confirmation to each public health center.

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