Gwangju Dong-gu, First in Region to Operate Permanent Infectious Disease Screening Clinic

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Dong-gu, Gwangju (Mayor Im Taek) announced on the 20th that it will install and operate a permanent screening clinic for the first time among the five autonomous districts to actively and effectively respond to the COVID-19 infectious disease crisis.

The Dong-gu permanent screening clinic was completed at the end of last month after remodeling the physical therapy room (126㎡) on the first floor of the public health center with an investment of 410 million won from national and city funds. The opening ceremony will be held on the 22nd, and full-scale operation will begin.

Until now, Dong-gu has operated screening clinics using simple negative pressure tents and containers, but the newly opened permanent screening clinic is equipped with a positive and negative pressure central control system, automatic ventilation, and heating and cooling systems.

Separate spaces such as reception and information rooms, examination rooms, specimen rooms, X-ray rooms, and medical waste rooms are provided, offering an optimal environment for both medical staff and visiting testers.

In particular, the negative pressure room filters viruses and other pathogens by passing the air inside the screening clinic through a HEPA filter before releasing it outside, and it controls the internal airflow of the screening clinic in one direction (allowing suspected patients to face the wind to block virus contact with testers sitting opposite).

With the opening of this screening clinic, testers can now undergo safe and rapid testing in a short time with minimal movement.

Medical staff are also expected to improve work efficiency by establishing an environment less affected by external weather conditions such as heat waves, monsoons, and severe cold.

In the future, Dong-gu plans to actively utilize the screening clinic for infectious disease response during crises like COVID-19 and use it as a space for examining and managing suspected respiratory infectious disease patients such as measles and tuberculosis during normal times.

Mayor Im Taek of Dong-gu said, “We will proactively respond to COVID-19 and various infectious diseases by installing a negative pressure screening clinic at the public health center,” and added, “In the midst of the nationwide COVID-19 surge, we ask everyone to strictly adhere to strengthened quarantine rules to prevent community infection.”

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