"Successful Establishment of Home Treatment is Key... Emergency Manual Must Be Meticulously Revised"

'Daily Recovery Roadmap' Expert Diagnosis
"It's Too Late If ICU Beds Exceed 80%"

On the 25th, a notice about the end of late-night train reductions due to the planned transition to the phased daily recovery (With Corona) stage was posted at Gwanghwamun Station on Seoul Subway Line 5. The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced on the 24th that "Seoul Subway Lines 2 and 5 to 9, the Uisinseol Line, city buses, and village buses will operate normally from the 25th, returning to the pre-reduction stage." Subway Lines 3 and 4, which operate in connection with Korail, are scheduled to be normalized sequentially starting December 1. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporters Seo So-jeong and Lee Chun-hee] As the government unveiled the roadmap for ‘gradual recovery of daily life (With Corona),’ experts identified the ‘settlement of home treatment’ as the key factor determining the success or failure of With Corona. Since it will be difficult to prevent an increase in COVID-19 cases as quarantine measures are eased, it is necessary to build a more detailed system to manage home treatment patients and prepare manuals for emergency situations.

Professor Jeong Ki-seok of Hallym University Sacred Heart Hospital (former director of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency) said on the 26th, "A case where a patient in his 60s undergoing home treatment in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, died due to delayed hospital transfer must not recur." He added, "Under the current system, if suddenly 10 critical patients appear in a specific district, it is impossible to efficiently respond from emergency handling to hospital transfer." Professor Jeong emphasized, "The government needs to create emergency manuals for various possible situations and hold practice sessions where the heads of 228 cities, counties, and districts nationwide, chaired by the Prime Minister, share and prepare in advance." Expanding the workforce at public health centers is also a task to be addressed. Professor Jeong said, "The role of public health centers will grow in the future," and added, "The workload burden on public health centers, which are responsible for health monitoring and isolation management of home patients, must be resolved."

Professor Chun Eun-mi of Ewha Mokdong Hospital proposed lowering the age exclusion for home treatment. Professor Chun said, "Expanding home treatment to asymptomatic and mild patients under 70 is appropriate, but the current age limit of 70 is too high," adding, "People in their 50s may have underlying conditions such as hypertension or diabetes without knowing, and if symptoms worsen, it can lead to pneumonia." She also stressed the need to strengthen communication with the field to ensure the home treatment system operates properly through close cooperation with local medical institutions. There is concern that, as the number of home treatment patients exceeds 100,000, cases like Japan?where home treatment patients who could not find hospital beds died in large numbers?may occur. Home treatment must not turn into a ‘home waiting’ situation.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The government plans to take emergency measures when the intensive care unit (ICU) and inpatient bed occupancy rates worsen to over 80%, but experts criticized this standard as complacent. They argue that a phased plan should be established in advance to prepare for the worst-case scenario. Professor Kim Woo-joo of Korea University Guro Hospital’s Department of Infectious Diseases said, "Once ICU beds exceed 80% occupancy, the situation is already serious," and pointed out, "Severe cases and deaths increase over 2 to 3 weeks after a surge in confirmed cases, and infection cannot be stopped instantly like a ‘circuit breaker’ in the stock market." Professor Jeong also expressed concern, saying, "When ICU and inpatient bed occupancy rates reach 80%, it is only a matter of time before they reach 100% due to inertia," adding, "This will inevitably cause disadvantages to other critical patients and increase excess mortality."

Masang-hyuk, Chair of the Infectious Disease Countermeasures Committee of the Gyeongsangnam-do Medical Association, assessed that additional discussions are needed regarding the introduction of the vaccine pass (proof of vaccination or negative test) amid increasing breakthrough infections. Chair Masang-hyuk said, "There is no countermeasure related to the waning preventive effect after a certain period following vaccination," and argued, "Since booster shots for the general public have not been fully implemented, the introduction of the vaccine pass should be approached cautiously." He also emphasized the need to reorganize quarantine rules according to the characteristics of each industry for multi-use facilities. Chair Masang-hyuk added, "Although the ban on gatherings at entertainment facilities has been lifted, restaurants that serve alcohol are not much different from entertainment facilities," and said, "Detailed manuals should be created for situations such as using bathhouse changing rooms, ventilating underground facilities, and using public transportation, so that the public can follow them."

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