Prime Minister Jeong: "Only Single-Digit Severe Patient Beds in the Capital Area... Please Cooperate with Private Hospitals"
[Asia Economy Reporter Kwangho Lee] Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said on the 10th, "Due to the rapid increase in confirmed cases, the number of immediately available severe patient beds in the metropolitan area is in the single digits."
On the same day, Prime Minister Chung held the 2nd Metropolitan Area Situation Inspection Meeting at Seoul City Hall and stated, "The quarantine authorities and local governments are doing their best to expand bed capacity, but there are limits with only public medical institutions. We earnestly request active cooperation from private hospitals."
Yesterday, about 320 days after the outbreak of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) in Korea, the cumulative number of confirmed cases surpassed 40,000. The spread is so rapid that it took only about 20 days to go from 30,000 to 40,000 cases. In particular, more than 8,000 confirmed cases have occurred in the metropolitan area over the past month.
Prime Minister Chung said, "The government has extended the testing hours at public health centers and made it so that practically anyone can get tested in response to the spread in the metropolitan area," adding, "Furthermore, we will significantly expand the epidemiological investigation capabilities of local governments and diversify testing methods to enable rapid testing and diagnosis."
He then instructed, "I hope the quarantine authorities will promptly concretize and implement these measures."
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Prime Minister Chung also said, "Public expectations for vaccines and treatments are high," and explained, "Once we have the powerful weapons of prevention and treatment, the long and tedious fight against COVID-19 will enter its final stage. The government intends to approach this with the determination that the final phase will determine the success or failure of K-quarantine."
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