Gyeongbuk Province Establishes COVID-19 Prevention and Emergency Medical System for Lunar New Year Holiday

Operation of 46 Screening Clinics and 6 Infectious Disease Dedicated Hospitals

On the morning of the 9th, two days before the Lunar New Year holiday, the parking lot of the domestic terminal at Gimpo Airport is full of parked vehicles. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Dong-wook] Gyeongsangbuk-do is operating 26 quarantine and emergency medical response teams each at city and county health centers during the Lunar New Year holiday period, maintaining a 24-hour emergency contact system throughout the holiday.

According to Gyeongbuk Province on the 9th, while operating 46 screening clinics and 6 infectious disease-dedicated hospitals, they plan to continuously monitor the occurrence of legally designated infectious diseases through 129 infectious disease sentinel surveillance medical institutions and respond promptly.

An emergency medical system for emergency patients will also be activated during the holiday period. Thirty-six emergency medical institutions and emergency medical facilities will maintain a 24-hour emergency medical system, and 368 hospitals and clinics open during the holiday, as well as 436 holiday duty pharmacies, will be designated and operated.

Information on hospitals and clinics open during the holiday and pharmacies can be checked through ▲Health and Welfare Counseling Center ▲119 Safety Reporting Center ▲Gyeongsangbuk-do and city/county health center websites ▲Emergency Medical Portal ▲Emergency Medical Information Service (E-GEN) app.

In particular, to ensure rapid response in case of disaster occurrence, emergency contact networks of the province and city/county health centers are maintained, and disaster medical support teams are organized at three regional emergency medical centers, which are disaster base hospitals in the province, to operate a disaster emergency medical treatment system capable of immediate response in case of multiple casualties.

The disaster base hospitals are Pohang St. Mary's Hospital, Andong Hospital, and Gumi CHA Hospital.

Kim Jin-hyun, Director of the Welfare and Health Bureau of Gyeongsangbuk-do, said, "During the Lunar New Year holiday period, there is a high risk of COVID-19 re-spread due to human contact and regional movement," and urged, "Please refrain from visiting your hometown and traveling as much as possible, and strictly follow quarantine rules such as prohibiting gatherings of five or more people and personal hygiene management."

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