NHIS Extends Support for Medical Institution Quarantine Personnel Until Late January Next Year

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] The National Health Insurance Service announced on the 25th that it has extended the quarantine support project for medical institutions until January 22 next year.

To reduce the burden of quarantine work for medical institutions struggling due to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) situation, the project was initially planned for four months from August to mid-next month, but the period was extended as the number of COVID-19 patients recently increased. The Service stated, "We received approval from the Ministry of Health and Welfare to extend the project period after listening to the opinions of medical sites expressing difficulties."

Considering the size of hospital beds at medical institutions, currently 4,549 quarantine support staff are working at 2,573 locations. Some quarantine support staff with nursing licenses voluntarily chose to work at screening clinics where the workload increased, and a staff member in their 60s was recognized for diligent work and was hired as a regular security guard at the respective medical institution.

Kang Cheong-hee, Executive Director of Benefits at the National Health Insurance Service, said, "We hope this extension of the quarantine support project will be a help to medical institutions struggling due to COVID-19."

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