"Whole Family Confirmed Positive... No Hospital Beds, Staying at Home for a Week" Patient's Plea

As the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) rapidly spread, the number of new confirmed cases surged to the 400s on the 27th, and the screening clinic set up at Yeongdeungpo-gu Public Health Center in Seoul was crowded with citizens seeking tests. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Seung-gon, Intern Reporter Kim Yeon-ju] Amid a rapid surge in confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) originating from Seoul and the metropolitan area, it has been revealed that five family members who tested positive are enduring the situation with cold medicine due to the lack of hospital beds.

Confirmed case A stated in an interview with CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show' on the 28th, "Five people including myself, my husband, our 10-month-old child, our 40-month-old child, and my mother have all tested positive for COVID-19."

A mentioned her husband, who was the first in the family to be confirmed positive, saying, "He said he felt unwell starting from the 21st," and explained, "Since his workplace is near Seoul City Hall and we were worried, he got tested on the 22nd and was confirmed positive on the 23rd."

She added, "We (the family) had no symptoms," and said, "So we thought everyone would test negative, but on the 25th, we found out we were positive."

She continued, "When only my husband was confirmed positive, it felt hopeless, but when it turned out that I was positive too, it felt like the sky was falling," expressing frustration by saying, "I really don't know where or what went wrong."

According to A, despite the entire family testing positive, no hospital beds have been assigned, so they have been staying at home for a week. She also revealed that her mother has underlying health conditions.

A explained the symptoms, saying, "My mother is deteriorating quickly and has no strength, so she is increasingly unable to get up," and "The whole family is showing symptoms such as high fever, chills, abdominal pain, sore throat, and muscle pain."

She added, "We have been taking regular cold medicine and symptom-specific drugs that we managed to get," and said, "As the family’s condition kept worsening, we requested help again from the public health center, but they refused because they cannot prescribe medication remotely."

She continued, "I begged and cried while making the request, and they said that the 40-month-old child, the 10-month-old child, and I could be admitted to the hospital. However, since both children are very young, I don’t know if I can go to the hospital alone and take care of both kids while receiving treatment," and expressed frustration, saying, "I would be fine living on the floor if only my husband and I could be admitted together for treatment, but all I get is a refusal."

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