Seoul City Preparing for 'Social Distancing Level 3'... Shortage of Beds in Residential Treatment Centers (Comprehensive)

Violation of Quarantine Rules at Seongseok Church and Itaewon Hold'em Pub Reported
Call for Doctors, Nurses, and Nursing Assistants to Return to the Field

As the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) rapidly spreads mainly in the Seoul metropolitan area, citizens are undergoing diagnostic tests at a temporary screening clinic set up at Seoul Station Plaza on the 14th. The government has designated the next three weeks, from today until the 3rd of next month, as an "intensive testing period" and will provide free testing through temporary screening clinics installed at 150 locations in the metropolitan area. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] As the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) continues, not only severe patients but also beds for treating mild confirmed cases at residential treatment centers in Seoul are becoming scarce. The Seoul Metropolitan Government has begun preparations assuming the escalation of social distancing to Level 3 as a last resort.

Seo Jeong-hyeop, Acting Mayor of Seoul, said at an online COVID-19 briefing on the morning of the 16th, "As the number of confirmed cases increases daily, Seoul's hospital beds are reaching their limits," adding, "We are fully committed to expanding residential treatment centers with a firm goal of preventing the 'home quarantine treatment' situation that the public healthcare system cannot accommodate."

The city has currently expanded residential treatment centers to a total of 1,929 beds, but only 245 beds are immediately available. 1,171 beds are in use, and the remaining 513 beds require preparation due to admissions and discharges, making them unavailable for immediate use. Separately, each of the 22 autonomous districts plans to secure up to 1,901 beds in residential treatment centers they operate, independent of the Seoul city government.

Acting Mayor Seo also stated, "Medical personnel support is an essential prerequisite for operating residential treatment centers," explaining, "Currently, 5,014 doctors and nurses have been deployed, but they are on the verge of exhaustion due to the prolonged situation, so broad cooperation and participation are urgently needed." He appealed, "If there are citizens with medical professional qualifications such as doctors, nurses, nursing assistants, and clinical pathologists who are retired or on leave and can volunteer, please return to the field."

Alongside this, Seoul plans to increase the current daily COVID-19 mass testing of around 10,000 cases to up to 37,000 people. Priority will be given to mass testing of high-risk groups inevitably exposed to the 3Cs (closed spaces, crowded places, close-contact settings), such as workers in delivery and logistics, food service, call centers, and sewing workplaces. Workers at religious facilities, where cluster infections have recently surged nationwide, are also included in the testing targets.

Acting Mayor Seo said, "Since December, when confirmed cases surged, 21.9% of cases have unknown infection routes, and the proportion of asymptomatic confirmed cases reached 31% last week," adding, "We will aggressively expand testing by increasing the speed and scope of diagnostic tests and tightly reduce blind spots in quarantine."

Earlier, at the temporary screening clinics set up by Seoul on the 14th, 10,576 general citizens visited over two days for testing. Among the 2,240 people tested on the first day, 17 were confirmed positive.

Seoul will also take strict and strong measures such as filing complaints and claiming damages against Seongseok Church in Gangseo-gu and the Itaewon Hold'em Pub, which caused large-scale cluster infections by violating quarantine rules.

Acting Mayor Seo said, "We have overcome previous phases by adjusting distancing levels, but this time there is no room to retreat, and only the final Level 3 remains as an option," explaining, "Seoul has already started preparations assuming escalation to Level 3, and is also considering additional measures beyond Level 3 and support measures to prevent fatal aftereffects on livelihoods and daily life."

He added, "However, Level 3 escalation is the last line of defense," urging, "Before the time comes when we must forcibly stop with Level 3, I ask citizens to voluntarily practice Level 3 social distancing themselves."

In Seoul, the number of new COVID-19 confirmed cases increased by 378 on the previous day (15th), bringing the total cumulative confirmed cases to 13,035.

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