Living Treatment Centers Opened One After Another for Mild COVID-19 and Foreign Patients

In March, medical staff at the Daegu·Gyeongbuk 3rd Residential Treatment Center, set up at the Seoul National University Hospital Talent Center in Mungyeong-eup, Mungyeong-si, Gyeongbuk, monitored the condition of mild COVID-19 patients admitted to the center.

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] The government is increasing the number of residential treatment centers for foreign COVID-19 patients and mild cases in the Seoul metropolitan area to four. This is due to a recent rise in patients caused by cluster infections in the metropolitan area and an increase in foreigners entering the country.

Lee Chang-jun, head of the Residential Treatment Center Division at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCH), said at a back briefing on the 23rd, "There is currently one residential treatment center for foreigners in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province, but there are only about 10 available spots left," adding, "As the number of arrivals has increased, we are preparing to open an additional center in the central region that can accommodate foreigners and patients from the central area."

Residential treatment centers are living support facilities for treating asymptomatic and mild patients, first introduced in early March in Daegu. For new infectious diseases like COVID-19, the principle is to treat patients in isolated places such as negative pressure rooms, but due to the shortage of hospital beds, this approach has been adjusted. Since there are not many negative pressure beds, admitting all patients, including those with mild or no symptoms, could delay treatment for severe patients and increase casualties. It is understood that about 80% of COVID-19 patients are mild cases, and for these patients, treatment is either not provided separately or only simple prescriptions are given after symptom checks.

According to the CDSCH, a total of 20 residential treatment centers were designated from early March, including the Daegu Central Education Training Institute and the Yeongdeok Samsung Human Resources Development Institute. Currently, the Woori Bank Training Center in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province, is operating as the Gyeonggi-International Center 1 since late April for foreign patients. Additionally, the Employment and Labor Training Institute in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, has been designated as Gyeonggi-Metropolitan Center 1, and the Small and Medium Venture Business Training Institute in Ansan as Gyeonggi-Metropolitan Center 2, both recently starting operations or in final preparations.

There are currently three designated and operating centers, with one more to be added. Lee explained, "The Gwangju Employment and Labor Training Institute plans to accept asymptomatic and mild patients confirmed in Seoul and Gyeonggi for operation, and the Ansan training center can accommodate about 200 patients and will be available for admission starting the 24th."

In Daegu and Gyeongbuk, 40% of confirmed patients were admitted to these centers, treated, and discharged after recovery. The government is also conducting research based on clinical information obtained from the Yeongdeok Gyeongbuk-Daegu 1 Center linked with Samsung Medical Center and the Ansan Gyeonggi-International 2 Center involving Korea University Medical Center. However, Lee noted that clinical research led by the National Institute of Health is facing some difficulties because some confirmed patients in the centers were not early-stage patients.

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