Incheon City Reiterates Request to Government for Establishing a General Hospital on Yeongjongdo Island... "Quarantine Burden from Airport Arrival Confirmed Cases"

89.5% of Nationwide Airport and Port COVID-19 Cases Enter Through Incheon Airport
Need for Response System in Case of Emergency Due to Lack of General Hospitals Near Airports

Incheon Mayor Park Nam-chun is attending the 'Emergency Meeting on COVID-19 Metropolitan Area Quarantine Situation' chaired by President Moon Jae-in via video conference at the City Hall Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters on the 9th. 2020.12.9
[Photo by Incheon City]


Emergency Meeting on COVID-19 Metropolitan Area Quarantine Situation

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] Incheon City has reiterated its request to the government to establish a public general hospital on Yeongjongdo, where the airport is located, to strengthen infectious disease and disaster response capabilities.

According to the city on the 10th, Incheon Mayor Park Namchun made this request during the "Emergency Video Meeting on COVID-19 Metropolitan Area Quarantine Situation" chaired by President Moon Jae-in the previous day.

Mayor Park pointed out, "Most overseas infected individuals enter through Incheon Airport, which places a significant burden on quarantine efforts across the metropolitan area."

He added, "We ask for active consideration of establishing a public general hospital near the airport to strengthen quarantine measures against new infectious diseases and prepare for emergency situations."

Incheon City has identified that out of 2,184 confirmed cases detected through quarantine at airports and ports nationwide as of the 5th this year, 1,956 cases (89.5%) entered through airports such as Incheon Airport.

However, Incheon Airport is more than 30 minutes away from the nearest general hospital, necessitating strengthened response systems to prepare for emergencies such as major aviation accidents and terrorism.

Earlier, in April, Mayor Park also requested during Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun's visit to Incheon, "It is essential to establish an infectious disease specialized general hospital on Yeongjongdo, where the airport is located, to enable rapid testing and treatment of overseas confirmed cases and minimize community contact."

In fact, major overseas airport cities such as Tokyo's Omori Hospital, New York's Presbyterian Hospital, Germany's Charit? Hospital, and Japan's National General Hospital operate infectious disease specialized hospitals equipped with emergency medical systems to prepare for aviation disasters or infectious disease inflows.

Meanwhile, in response to the spread of COVID-19, Incheon City has been working with public medical centers and private hospitals to secure additional treatment beds and residential treatment centers.

The number of dedicated severe patient treatment beds, currently 21, will be increased to 40, and infectious disease dedicated beds will be expanded from the current 444 to 530.

Additionally, the SK Muui Training Center on Muui Island in Jung-gu, which can accommodate 132 people, will be additionally operated as a residential treatment center starting from the 10th.

As a result, the number of residential treatment centers available for use by Incheon City will increase from two to three, and the capacity for admission will rise from 320 to 452 people.

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