If You Suddenly Get Sick During Chuseok Holiday?… Emergency Medical Portal Shows Open Hospitals

Example of Emergency Medical Portal Screen (Photo by Ministry of Health and Welfare)

[Asia Economy Reporter Chunhee Lee] The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced on the 16th that it will provide information on hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, screening clinics, and temporary screening centers open during the Chuseok holiday (18th-22nd) to minimize inconvenience in medical use and ensure a safe holiday without medical gaps.

A total of 507 institutions operating emergency rooms will provide 24-hour care as usual for emergency patients. Among private medical institutions and pharmacies, only 779 and 1,875 locations nationwide will be open on Chuseok day, the 21st. However, 234 public health institutions, including health centers, are scheduled to open, and 368 screening clinics and 141 temporary screening centers will continue COVID-19 testing.

Information on hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, and screening clinics open during the Chuseok holiday can be obtained through the Health and Welfare Call Center (129), Emergency Situation Management Center (119), and city/province call centers (120). It will also be easily accessible through the Emergency Medical Portal, the Ministry of Health and Welfare website, and the Emergency Medical Information Application (app).

In particular, the Emergency Medical Portal will switch to a holiday-dedicated screen starting at midnight on the 18th, the beginning of the holiday, allowing users to check information on open medical institutions through a separate notification window. Additionally, major portals such as Naver and Daum will rank "Holiday Hospitals" high in search results for easy access.

The Emergency Medical Information app shows hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, and screening clinics open nearby on a map based on the user's location and allows users to check consultation hours and medical departments. It also contains useful information for emergencies, such as nighttime medical institution information, automated external defibrillator (AED) locations, and emergency treatment guidelines.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare and local governments will operate emergency medical situation rooms during the Chuseok holiday to monitor the operation status of open hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, screening clinics, and temporary screening centers. The Central Emergency Medical Situation Room (National Medical Center) will operate 24 hours, and disaster medical assistance teams (DMAT) at 40 disaster base hospitals nationwide will remain on standby to respond to disasters and mass casualty incidents as usual.

Park Hyang, Director of Public Health Policy at the Ministry of Health and Welfare, said, “We will do our best to operate the emergency medical system during the holiday so that the public can have a safe and comfortable Chuseok holiday.” She added, “Screening clinics and temporary screening centers will operate without interruption during the Chuseok holiday, so those with COVID-19 symptoms or epidemiological links requiring testing should visit screening clinics, and those without symptoms but who want testing due to anxiety should visit temporary screening centers for active testing.”

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