Haenam-gun, Construction of Fixed Building for Screening Clinic

Rapid Response to Infectious Disease Increase, National and Provincial Funding Secured for Completion Next Year

Haenam-gun Public Health Center Screening Clinic (Photo by Haenam-gun)

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Hyun] Haenam-gun, Jeollanam-do announced on the 1st that it will construct a permanent building for the health center screening clinic, which is currently operated in a temporary form.

With the global increase in new types of infectious diseases such as COVID-19, the need for a permanent screening clinic equipped with negative pressure facilities, where suspected infectious disease patients can be tested regardless of season or climate, is growing.

Accordingly, Haenam-gun plans to promote the construction project of a permanent screening clinic, replacing the screening clinic currently operated in containers and temporary tents since January, immediately after the outbreak of COVID-19, with a permanent building.

The permanent screening clinic will be built with a total investment of 540 million KRW, including 228 million KRW from national and provincial funds, aiming for completion early next year.

It is planned to be constructed on about 200㎡ in the health center parking lot. Besides screening and specimen collection functions for symptomatic patients of new infectious diseases, it will separate the movement paths of suspected patients and medical staff to block the spread of infectious diseases in the community and ensure the safety of medical personnel.

The permanent screening clinic will be used as a treatment room for infectious disease patients such as measles and tuberculosis during normal times, and will be converted into a screening clinic when highly contagious infectious diseases like COVID-19 occur.

Myeong Hyun-gwan, the mayor of Haenam-gun, said, “Through the COVID-19 crisis, we will continue to strengthen the crisis response capabilities of internal staff and establish a comprehensive mid- to long-term plan for new infectious disease management to continuously improve sustainable healthcare quality.”

Meanwhile, nationwide, 59 permanent screening clinics are planned to be established, including 9 locations in Jeollanam-do such as Haenam.

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