Stepwise Closure of Residential Treatment Centers... "Operation Focused on Overseas Arrivals and Seoul Metropolitan Area" (Update)

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] The residential treatment centers established by the government to treat mild cases of COVID-19 will be operated in the future to respond to overseas arrivals and to prepare for the spread of infections in the Seoul metropolitan area as the number of patients decreases.

Kim Kang-lip, the first chief coordinator of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, stated at a regular briefing held at the Government Complex Sejong on the 20th, "From now on, the residential treatment centers designated by the Central Accident Response Headquarters will be operated in a way to prepare for overseas arrivals and large-scale infection spread in the metropolitan area."

The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters has so far established and operated a total of 18 residential treatment centers, including 16 centers for patients from Daegu and Gyeongbuk and 2 centers for overseas arrivals.

Considering the decreasing trend of patients in Daegu and Gyeongbuk centers, the headquarters ended the operation of 11 out of 16 centers as of the previous day and is currently operating them integrated into 5 facilities. The remaining 5 facilities will also gradually cease operations by the end of this month and be converted into local government-operated residential treatment centers.

The centers for overseas arrivals will be operated to prepare for large-scale infection spread in the metropolitan area as well as overseas arrivals. Chief Coordinator Kim said, "We will maintain a residential treatment center with about 300 rooms on a regular basis to prepare for large-scale infections in the metropolitan area."

The headquarters also plans to develop and distribute a "Standard Model for Residential Treatment Centers," which standardizes facility and personnel criteria, non-face-to-face medical treatment, and patient management procedures, both domestically and internationally. Chief Coordinator Kim stated, "In the event of prolonged or sporadic COVID-19 infections, local governments will be prepared to establish and operate their own residential treatment centers according to the standard model."

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