Ruling Party and Government Discuss Expansion of Public Healthcare... Enhancing COVID-19 Testing and Treatment Infrastructure

As the number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) approached the 700s for three consecutive days, on the 11th, medical staff who had completed patient transfer returned to the negative pressure isolation ward at the National Medical Center in Jung-gu, Seoul. The Central Disease Control Headquarters announced that 689 new domestic confirmed cases were reported as of midnight that day. This is the highest number in 286 days since the 909 cases recorded during the first major outbreak centered in the Daegu and Gyeongbuk regions, and the second largest number ever. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] The Democratic Party of Korea and the government decided on the 11th to significantly expand testing and treatment infrastructure in response to the resurgence of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

It is known that the ruling party and the government discussed this during a closed-door meeting held on the same day ahead of the government's announcement of plans to expand regional public hospitals scheduled for the 13th.

The ruling party and the government currently consider that there are sufficient hospital beds to accommodate COVID-19 patients, mainly in public hospitals, and are reviewing additional securing measures. On this day, the ruling party and government also shared the current status regarding the supply of vaccines and therapeutics.

Kim Sung-joo, the Democratic Party's secretary for the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee, said to reporters after the meeting, "Since the period that can be called the third wave has arrived, we reviewed quarantine measures," adding, "We received a government report on the development and securing status of vaccines and therapeutics and the party presented its opinions."

The meeting convened by Democratic Party leader Lee Nak-yeon was attended by Floor Leader Kim Tae-nyeon, Policy Committee Chair Han Jeong-ae, and Minister of Health and Welfare Park Neung-hoo, among others.

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