Prime Minister Jeong: "160,000 Tests Conducted in 6 Days at Temporary Screening Centers in the Capital Area... 385 Confirmed Cases Found, Preventing Spread"

"3rd Wave's Toughest Final Battle... Full Effort to Reverse Spread"
"Temporary Screening Centers to Operate in Busan from Tomorrow... Installation in Major Cities of Each Province Under Review"

Prime Minister Jeong Sye-kyun

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwangho Lee] Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said on the 20th, "In just six days since the installation of temporary screening clinics in the metropolitan area to preemptively block the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), over 160,000 tests have been conducted with great public response, and so far, 385 confirmed cases have been identified, allowing us to prevent further spread in advance."

At the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters (CDSCH) meeting on COVID-19 held at the Government Seoul Office on the same day, Prime Minister Chung stated, "The government believes that this third wave is the toughest final battle, and we are making every effort to reverse the spread."

He added, "Busan Metropolitan City will also begin operating temporary screening clinics starting tomorrow," and urged, "Each city and province should actively consider installing temporary screening clinics in major cities nationwide where infection spread is a concern. The Central Disease Control Headquarters (CDCH) and the Central Accident Response Headquarters (CARH) should promptly devise necessary support measures."

Prime Minister Chung expressed concern, saying, "With daily confirmed cases in the thousands continuing for several days, the public is most worried about the shortage of hospital beds. Thanks to the cooperation of many institutions and organizations, residential treatment centers for mild patients are being secured without delay, but securing beds for moderate to severe patients is progressing slowly."

He continued, "Especially for intensive care unit beds, which are directly linked to mortality rates, we must consider this a wartime situation and make every effort to secure even a single additional bed," noting, "As the government issued a bed securing order to advanced general hospitals nationwide a few days ago, the situation is urgent day by day."

He then requested, "We ask for the active cooperation of private hospitals," and urged, "The CARH should prepare sufficient support measures so that private hospitals can make decisions without hesitation."

Prime Minister Chung also said, "Amid ongoing controversy over adjustments to social distancing levels, it was recently reported that a hospital in Chungbuk issued false COVID-19 negative certificates and transferred patients to other hospitals," emphasizing, "If trust breaks down at the quarantine sites, adjusting social distancing levels becomes meaningless. Even if no one verifies it, COVID-19 will gradually move away from us when everyone works together for the safety of the community from their respective positions."

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