An Seung-nam, Mayor of Guri, Urges "Urgent Need to Secure Additional Hospital Beds"…Proposes Conversion of National Military Guri Hospital

[Asia Economy (Guri) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Guri City in Gyeonggi Province is taking steps to secure dedicated infectious disease hospitals and residential treatment centers in preparation for the spread of COVID-19.

Ahn Seung-nam, Mayor of Guri (Head of the Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters), stated on the 23rd, "Considering the unprecedented infectious disease disaster situation, we recently proposed at the Gyeonggi Province-led Disaster Countermeasures Headquarters meeting to convert the Gukgun Guri Hospital in the city into a dedicated infectious disease hospital for isolating and treating confirmed COVID-19 patients."

Gukgun Guri Hospital, located in Inchang-dong, Guri City, was established in October 2017 and is equipped with 11 inpatient rooms, 100 beds, and highly skilled medical personnel. In February and March, when confirmed cases surged due to the Shincheonji Church, Gukgun Daegu Hospital and Gukgun Daejeon Hospital were converted into dedicated infectious disease hospitals. Based on this precedent, Guri City believes that converting Gukgun Guri Hospital into a dedicated hospital is possible if the situation becomes critical.

Mayor Ahn also added, "To treat mild COVID-19 patients and support their prompt return to daily life, we have decided to promote the establishment of 'residential treatment centers' using public and private facilities within the city."

Earlier, on the 20th, Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung made an "Urgent Appeal to the Citizens," requesting active cooperation to convert facilities owned by public institutions, private companies, and organizations into residential treatment facilities.

Mayor Ahn emphasized, "In the current situation, which marks a turning point in the second wave of COVID-19 with 17 patients occurring over the past 10 days, the most urgent task is securing additional hospital beds," adding, "We will thoroughly prepare, including securing residential treatment centers, to prepare for the worst-case scenario."

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