Cluster COVID-19 Infection at Anseong Psychiatric Hospital... Transfer to Nearby Hospitals and Bed Redistribution

Citizens waiting in line for testing at the Fever and Respiratory Clinic of Korea University Anam Hospital in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul.

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] Five inpatients at a psychiatric hospital in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province, have tested positive for the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

According to the city, since the first confirmed case at this hospital on the 16th of last month, a total of 39 people have tested positive over the past month. Among them, 38 are inpatients and one is a medical staff member. The cluster infection mainly occurred in Ward 1, where the first patient was admitted, among the three wards in the hospital. The first patient is known to have been transferred from a hospital in Goesan, Chungbuk, where a cluster infection had previously broken out.

The city’s quarantine authorities decided to transfer about 120 inpatients from Ward 3 to other medical institutions within the province to prevent the spread of infection within the ward. Those to be transferred are patients who have not had contact with confirmed cases and have tested negative multiple times in diagnostic tests. Patients admitted to Wards 1 and 2 are being redistributed to Ward 3, and beds are being reassigned to reduce the risk of infection.

Psychiatric hospitals are considered high-risk facilities along with nursing hospitals and nursing homes. Due to high density, once the virus is introduced, many people are likely to be infected, and nursing and caregiving are not easy, requiring a large number of medical staff. Authorities plan to establish a mental health treatment network to transfer patients to other psychiatric hospitals in nearby areas if cluster infections spread within psychiatric hospitals.

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