"Due to COVID-19" ... 12% Decrease in 119 Ambulance Transport Patients in Seoul from January to March

Si Fire and Disaster Headquarters Demands Legal Amendments Including Mandatory Declaration of Overseas Travel History

Korean residents in Wuhan, China, the outbreak area of the novel coronavirus infection, returned home on the morning of the 12th via the third chartered flight through Gimpo Airport. During the entry process, residents identified as symptomatic were seen leaving the Seoul Gimpo Business Aviation Center by ambulance. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] Due to the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), reflecting the tendency to reduce outdoor activities and avoid hospital visits, the number of patients transported by Seoul's 119 ambulance service has decreased this year.

According to the Seoul Fire and Disaster Headquarters on the 17th, the total number of patients transported by the 119 ambulance service in the first quarter of this year was 68,936, which is an 11.7% decrease compared to 78,108 during the same period last year.

In particular, the number of patients transported in March was 19,676, a sharp drop of 27.0% compared to 26,947 in the same month last year, marking the first time in the past three years that the monthly figure fell below 20,000.

Compared to the monthly average of 28,260 patients transported by the 119 ambulance service last year, this year's numbers were all below that, with 27,472 in January and 21,788 in February.

A Fire and Disaster Headquarters official explained, "This is interpreted as reflecting the reduction in outdoor activities due to the practice of 'social distancing' to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and the psychological tendency to avoid hospital visits whenever possible."

Seoul's 119 ambulance service has also transported a total of 4,553 suspected COVID-19 patients from January 24 to April 16, among whom 168 were confirmed positive. However, since April, both the daily average number of suspected patient transports and confirmed cases have significantly decreased, falling below the overall average for two consecutive weeks.

The city has introduced 28 units of 'negative pressure patient transport equipment,' specialized equipment for transporting infectious disease patients, to assist 119 ambulance crews until the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. These have been deployed and operated at 24 fire stations' on-site response teams and negative pressure ambulance teams at two fire stations, Seodaemun and Gangwon.

The Fire and Disaster Headquarters also pointed out that many cases occurred where ambulance personnel were quarantined after transporting suspected COVID-19 patients to hospitals, resulting in a loss of 119 firefighting resources. So far, a total of 1,127 firefighters have been self-quarantined due to field activities, and currently, 8 are still in self-quarantine.

The Fire and Disaster Headquarters argued that 119 ambulance personnel should be added to the scope of 'medical personnel' as defined by the Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Act, and that regulations should be established to ensure that patients fully disclose their movement paths during the transport of infectious disease patients in the future, minimizing the quarantine of ambulance personnel.

Shin Yeol-woo, head of the Seoul Fire and Disaster Headquarters, stated, "We will do our utmost to respond to suspected patient transport and other measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19," and urged, "We ask all citizens to actively participate in blocking infectious diseases by practicing social distancing and thoroughly managing personal hygiene."

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