Seoul City Operates 65 Emergency and On-Duty Medical Institutions and 2,600 Holiday Pharmacy Keepers During Lunar New Year Holiday

Operation of COVID-19 Screening Clinics at Public Health Centers in 25 Autonomous Districts, Efforts to Prevent Infectious Disease Spread

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Seoul City announced on the 7th that it will designate and operate ‘emergency and on-duty medical institutions’ and ‘holiday duty pharmacies’ so that citizens can smoothly use nearby hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies if they become ill during the Lunar New Year holiday period.

The 65 emergency medical institutions and general hospital emergency rooms in Seoul will operate 24 hours as usual, and on-duty medical institutions must be used after checking their operating hours. The emergency medical institutions include a total of 65 locations: △31 regional and local emergency medical centers such as Seoul National University Hospital △18 local emergency medical institutions such as Seoul Eastern Hospital △16 emergency room operating hospitals such as National Medical Center.

During the holiday period, 971 hospitals and clinics other than emergency medical institutions will provide emergency medical services for primary care of patients, and 2,605 holiday duty pharmacies near on-duty medical institutions will operate for citizens’ convenience.

Hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies open in your neighborhood during the holiday period can be easily checked through the internet, phone, and smartphone apps. They can be found on the websites of the 119 Ambulance Situation Management Center, Seoul City, 25 autonomous districts, and the Central Emergency Medical Center. You can also call 120 (Dasan Call Center) or 119 (Ambulance Situation Management Center) without an area code for guidance, or check through the smartphone app ‘Emergency Medical Information Provision (e-gen).’

Seoul City requested citizens to refrain from direct visits and to observe a non-face-to-face holiday to prevent the spread of COVID-19 this year. In addition, the health centers of the 25 autonomous districts will operate COVID-19 screening clinics during the holiday to block the spread of infectious diseases. Also, four types of 13 over-the-counter safety medicines, such as digestive aids, antipyretic analgesics, cold medicine, and patches, will be easily available at 7,126 convenience stores and other over-the-counter medicine sales outlets.

Park Yumi, Director of the Seoul City Citizen Health Bureau, said, “During the Lunar New Year holiday period, for mild illnesses such as stomach upset or colds, please check in advance by calling 120 or 119 so that you can use nearby hospitals, health centers, and pharmacies without going to the emergency room.” She added, “Even during the holiday, we will do our best to guide citizens on the use of COVID-19 screening clinics and the operating hours of open hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies to ensure no inconvenience in medical use.”

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