Assemblyman Heo Jongsik: "Infectious Disease Specialized Hospital Should Be Established in Incheon"… Emphasizing Accessibility to International Airport

Democratic Party of Korea Representative Heo Jong-sik

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] Democratic Party lawmaker Heo Jongsik (Incheon Dong-gu Michuhol-gu Gap) stated, "Infectious disease specialized hospitals were selected for the Honam, Jungbu, and Yeongnam regions according to the 2016 research project by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (Research and Development on the Establishment Plan for Infectious Disease Specialized Hospitals). Therefore, additional hospitals should be selected in Incheon and Jeju as per the research results."

This research project includes improvement plans for expanding medical facilities such as establishing infectious disease specialized hospitals in preparation for the influx of overseas infectious diseases following the 2015 MERS outbreak.

While establishing infectious disease specialized hospitals in the central region and five zones (Jungbu, Yeongnam, Honam, Incheon, Jeju), the reason for selecting Incheon and Jeju was given as "the need to prepare for the entry of many foreigners and the large-scale arrival of overseas compatriots during public health crises."

Regarding the location of infectious disease specialized hospitals, it was emphasized that they should be built in locations that are easy to block external inflows, highlighting geographical accessibility to international airports.

According to the Central Disease Control Headquarters, as of the 9th, the cumulative number of confirmed cases is 81,487, of which 6,879 (8.5%) are imported cases and related individuals.

In other words, gateway areas with airports and ports are routes for patient inflow, making them the frontline of infectious disease preparedness, experts point out.

Lawmaker Heo Jongsik emphasized, "Considering the increasing trend of highly transmissible overseas variant viruses, infectious disease specialized hospitals must be established in gateway cities with airports unconditionally," and added, "Since the government has announced plans to hold a public contest targeting medical institutions at the general hospital level or higher, efforts should be accelerated to establish infectious disease specialized hospitals in connection with Incheon Medical Center or general hospital-level medical institutions in the Incheon area."

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