Mapo-gu Builds New Screening Clinic with State-of-the-Art Facilities... Preparing for Prolonged COVID-19 Battle

Immediate Construction Start in February Spread Phase, Completion by Early May... Timely Operation During Itaewon Cluster Infection... Air Pressure, Ventilation, HVAC Systems and Thorough Separation of Medical Staff and Patients in Flow Design... 400 Specimen Tests Performed Daily in May... No Heat Stress Concerns Even Wearing Level D Protective Gear

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Mapo-gu (Mayor Yoo Dong-gyun) is drawing attention for responding to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) by constructing a new screening clinic equipped with the latest facilities such as negative pressure, ventilation, and heating and cooling systems.

The district had already planned to build a screening clinic capable of responding to various infectious diseases during the period before COVID-19 emerged last year. Subsequently, when COVID-19 spread rapidly in Korea in February this year, construction of the clinic began immediately and was completed in early May.

In particular, the newly built screening clinic was operated in a timely manner during the surge in testing demand following the Itaewon cluster infection incident, flawlessly handling a large volume of specimen testing.

The screening clinic, newly constructed next to the Mapo-gu Public Health Center, is equipped with negative pressure, ventilation, heating and cooling systems, and foot valve automatic doors, and is designed with a flow structure that thoroughly separates medical staff and patients.

All processes from suspected patient reception, basic epidemiological investigation, medical examination, to specimen collection are conducted within a negative pressure facility solidly designed with reinforced concrete structure, providing an optimal environment for both medical staff and suspected patients regardless of adverse weather conditions such as heatwaves, monsoons, or severe cold.

Especially, medical staff wearing Level D protective gear can now work without concerns about the recent heat, greatly improving work efficiency.

Also, whereas the previous air tent clinics allowed only one specimen collection per tent space, the new screening clinic enables specimen collection in three separate spaces.

As a result, in May, it effectively handled specimen collection for about 400 people per day.

Along with this, as medical staff fatigue has increased due to the ongoing COVID-19 response, Mapo-gu has recently established new rest areas for medical staff on the first and second floors of the public health center, making every effort to maintain their condition.

The weekend screening clinic work schedule has also been improved from four times a month to twice a month, and operating hours, which were from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, have been adjusted from the 13th to 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. to prepare for a prolonged battle.

Yoo Dong-gyun, Mayor of Mapo-gu, said, “We are making thorough preparations so that the public health center response personnel can maintain the quarantine system without getting exhausted until the end, in preparation for the prolongation of COVID-19 or the possibility of a second wave.”

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