"Didn’t See Each Other Since Seol, Now Even Chuseok..." Families Longing in Painful Separation

Visitation Prohibited in Long-term Care and General Hospital ICUs
Due to COVID-19 Resurgence
Concerns Over Cluster Infections, Increased Threat to Life

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Dong-hoon] #Lee Min-seong (54), who lives in Geumcheon-gu, Seoul, has been separated from his mother due to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19). After his mother developed dementia, she was admitted to a nursing hospital in Gyeonggi Province two years ago, and due to COVID-19 restrictions on family visits, he has not been able to see her for half a year. Occasionally, with the help of caregivers, they have video calls, but his mother, who suffers from dementia, sometimes does not recognize him beyond the phone screen. Lee said, "Since the visit ban started after I visited during the Lunar New Year in January, I still haven't been able to see her," adding, "Although limited visits are possible, I am afraid that visiting a nursing hospital with many elderly people might cause an infection."

On the 11th, 20 days before the Chuseok holiday, as COVID-19 resurges, visits to nursing hospitals and intensive care units in general hospitals have become impossible, increasing the number of anxious families. Health authorities classified nursing hospitals and nursing homes as high-risk facilities for COVID-19 infection and restricted patient visits since February 17. Especially after the government strengthened quarantine measures on the 30th of last month, so-called 'COVID-19 separated families' have increased.

Hospitals at all levels have also banned visits to intensive care units. Even in general wards, only one resident guardian is allowed entry, and in most cases, visits by other family members are prohibited. According to the National Health Insurance Service, as of the end of last month, there are 1,587 nursing hospitals and 5,588 nursing homes nationwide, with about 370,000 elderly patients admitted or receiving care in these facilities.

There is a reason for the visitation ban on hospitals and nursing facilities. The most vulnerable to COVID-19 infection are patients with weakened immune systems. Patients with pre-existing conditions face life-threatening risks if infected with COVID-19. Indeed, after the spread of COVID-19, group infections occurred in nursing facilities such as Cheongdo Daenam Hospital (116 cases), Bonghwa Pureun Nursing Home (68 cases), and Gyeongsan Seo Nursing Hospital (65 cases), resulting in dozens of deaths.

The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters announced the need to strengthen quarantine management during the Chuseok holiday period and released quarantine measures to be observed during the holiday. They urged minimizing visits to hometowns and relatives and recommended refraining from visits to elderly nursing facilities and nursing hospitals. Visits to ancestral graves and columbarium facilities should preferably be scheduled during less crowded times. A prior reservation system for visitors will be implemented at indoor columbarium facilities during the two weeks before and after Chuseok (from the third week of September to the third week of October). Use of ritual rooms and family rest areas within columbarium facilities is prohibited. For grass-cutting around graves, it is recommended to use proxy services provided by the Forest Cooperative, Nonghyup, and others.

Although these measures are for quarantine purposes, families’ hearts are burning with worry. Lee said, "I hope that even non-contact visits can be allowed while wearing masks and gloves," adding, "My mother might feel isolated or lonely during the time when all the family gathers."

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