Vulnerable Facilities Neglected by Society Return as a COVID-19 'Boomerang'

Mass Infections Occur in Nursing and Correctional Facilities in the US, Europe, and Korea
These Facilities Mainly House Elderly High-Risk Groups for COVID-19
Chronic Issues Like Outdated Facilities and Staff Shortages Exacerbate the Crisis
Experts Call for Comprehensive Review and Discussion on Social Care Issues

On the afternoon of the 29th, an inmate at the Dongbu Detention Center in Songpa-gu, Seoul, wrote down complaints about overcrowding of confirmed cases and the ban on sending letters, and showed them to the press. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Ju-hyung] As cluster infections of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continue unabated, concerns have been raised that vulnerable facilities such as nursing hospitals and detention centers have exacerbated the crisis. These facilities have long been prone to rapid infection spread due to poor working conditions and overcrowding, and many house high-risk groups for COVID-19, increasing the risk of a surge in critically ill patients and deaths. Experts suggest that this cluster infection crisis should prompt discussions on improving these long-neglected vulnerable facilities.

On March 12, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a pandemic. A pandemic is the highest alert level, indicating a rapid increase in confirmed cases and widespread outbreaks across countries. This is only the third time in history that WHO has declared a pandemic, following the 1968 Hong Kong flu and the 2009 H1N1 influenza.

Amid this, nursing homes, detention centers, and correctional facilities worldwide have posed significant threats to containment efforts. In countries including the United States, Europe, and South Korea, these facilities have experienced large-scale cluster infections and numerous deaths, causing great suffering.

In March, when the first wave of COVID-19 spread in Europe began, France reported that over 14,000 deaths?nearly half of its total 30,000 deaths?occurred in nursing facilities. Similarly, in the UK, 18,562 COVID-19-related deaths between March and June were reported in nursing homes.

Correctional facilities have also suffered severe impacts. According to data from the Marshall Project, which tracks COVID-19 infections in U.S. prisons, over 276,000 of approximately 1.3 million incarcerated individuals have been infected (with about 186,800 recovered), and the cumulative death toll has reached 1,738.

On July 2nd (local time), medical staff at United Memorial Medical Center in Houston, Texas, USA, are attending to a COVID-19 patient. / Photo by Yonhap News

The domestic situation is no different. In October, over 50 COVID-19 cases were detected in a nursing hospital in Buk-gu, Busan, and at Hyoplus Nursing Hospital in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province?where cohort isolation was implemented after the first confirmed case?40 people had died from COVID-19 as of the 29th.

Meanwhile, at Seoul Dongbu Detention Center, more than 200 new cases were reported on the same day, raising the total confirmed cases to 762, significantly impacting the nationwide case count and highlighting the severity of cluster infections.

Long-standing social neglect of vulnerable facilities such as nursing and correctional institutions is seen as a factor that has worsened this crisis. These facilities were already highly susceptible to infectious diseases before COVID-19 due to staff shortages and outdated infrastructure.

A 2020 survey by the Ministry of Health and Welfare found that 401 nursing hospitals nationwide had more than 14 beds per room. According to current medical law enforcement regulations, newly built nursing hospitals cannot have more than six beds per room, but older facilities are not obligated to comply with this standard.

Additionally, some nursing facilities currently face significant management difficulties due to staff turnover and shortages. By nature, nursing facilities require caregivers to have close contact with multiple patients, creating an environment highly conducive to COVID-19 transmission.

On the 25th, medical staff were working in the negative pressure isolation ward for COVID-19 critical patients at Hyundai Hospital in Jinjeon-eup, Namyangju-si, Gyeonggi Province. / Photo by Yonhap News

On the 28th, a healthcare worker at a nursing hospital in Guro-gu, Seoul, posted on the Blue House's public petition board, stating, "With caregivers and nurses quitting, the remaining nurses are also getting infected," and appealed to the government for medical staff support, warning that if the existing nursing staff burn out and collapse, no one will be able to care for patients.

The situation is similar in correctional facilities. Seoul Dongbu Detention Center, which experienced the largest single-facility cluster infection nationwide, has a designated capacity of 2,017 inmates but was confirmed to be housing 2,419?402 more than its capacity?indicating severe overcrowding.

Once infection spreads in these vulnerable facilities, there is a risk of so-called "n-th generation infections" spreading through visitors and commuting staff. Given that these facilities primarily house elderly high-risk groups, the number of critically ill patients and deaths could surge, potentially overwhelming local hospital bed capacity. This is why warnings are issued that outdated social infrastructure could become a boomerang to containment efforts.

COVID-19 specimen testing was conducted at a nursing home in Buk-gu, Gwangju last July. / Photo by Yonhap News

Experts note that even before the COVID-19 cluster infections, vulnerable facilities such as nursing hospitals were always susceptible to infectious diseases and advise long-term discussions on elderly health rights.

Professor Jung Hee-won of Seoul National University College of Medicine pointed out at the Ministry of Health and Welfare's "Aging Society Forum" held in June, "In the U.S., one-third of all deaths and in EU countries about half occurred in nursing homes. In South Korea, nursing homes and nursing hospitals overwhelmingly have multi-bed rooms with high population density, and one caregiver looks after multiple patients, making them vulnerable to COVID-19."

He added, "Although much support will be focused on infectious disease prevention and treatment after the COVID-19 crisis, the most important group is the elderly, who will suffer the greatest damage in terms of reduced healthy life expectancy and quality of life, whether they contract COVID-19 or not."

He emphasized, "A comprehensive review of vulnerable facilities considering elderly health rights is necessary," and called for discussions on how to prevent the increasing social care burden that will arise after COVID-19.

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