Capital Region 'Hospital Bed Securing Administrative Order' Issued... 2nd Vice Minister "Expanding 10,000 Beds"

Ryu Geun-hyeok, Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters 1st General Coordinator Opening Remarks
Refinement of Home Treatment Management System
Urging Additional Vaccination Measures for Adolescents Before Suneung and Elderly with Breakthrough Infections

Ryu Geun-hyeok, the 1st General Coordinator of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCH) and Vice Minister of Health and Welfare, stated in the opening remarks of the CDSCH meeting on the morning of the 5th, "We will issue an administrative order to secure hospital beds in the metropolitan area today to ensure that we can respond even if 7,000 confirmed cases occur in a single day."
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] The government announced on the 5th that it will issue an 'administrative order to secure hospital beds' in hospitals in the Seoul metropolitan area to ensure medical response capability even if there are 7,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases per day.

Ryu Geun-hyeok, the 1st General Coordinator of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCH) and Vice Minister of Health and Welfare, said in his opening remarks at the CDSCH meeting that morning, "We are issuing an administrative order to secure hospital beds in the Seoul metropolitan area today to be able to respond even if 7,000 confirmed cases occur per day," adding, "We will expand hospital beds to a level that can handle up to 10,000 patients per day depending on the situation."

The home treatment management system will also be refined more precisely. Vice Minister Ryu said, "We will conduct a full re-inspection of the operation status to promptly organize the selection of subjects, distribution of treatment supplies, health status monitoring, and emergency transport systems without any gaps."

He added, "Home treatment will be further expanded and normalized as the phased recovery of daily life progresses," urging, "Local governments outside the metropolitan area with available hospital beds should also expedite the operation and establishment of home treatment systems, including securing dedicated personnel and designating cooperating medical institutions."

He also emphasized the need to encourage vaccination for adolescents and the elderly. He said, "Recently, adolescents and the elderly account for about half of all confirmed cases," stressing, "With the college entrance exam and full school reopening approaching, the spread among adolescents should not be overlooked."

He continued, "The education authorities should strengthen quarantine inspections not only at schools but also at facilities frequently visited by students such as academies and PC rooms, in cooperation with local governments. Vaccination of children and adolescents is also an important task." He urged the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) to closely analyze adolescent vaccination status, including adverse reaction cases, with expert assistance and to transparently explain the results to parents and adolescents.

Vice Minister Ryu said, "As 77.4% of confirmed cases among those aged 70 and older have been identified as breakthrough infections, additional vaccinations for the elderly are urgently needed," adding, "local governments with poor access to medical institutions should prepare and actively implement vaccination support measures suitable for regional conditions."

He continued, "I ask all central government ministries to maintain cooperative systems with local governments and support them to ensure that additional vaccinations for workers and users of their respective facilities proceed smoothly," adding, "The KDCA and related ministries should actively work to provide additional vaccinations that the public can receive safely and conveniently based on the vaccine administration data accumulated over the past eight months."

Meanwhile, starting from the 4th, the government will begin a two-week special inspection of quarantine compliance in cooperation with related ministries and local governments. They will guide and educate on the revised quarantine rules at the field level to ensure a smooth transition to daily life recovery. Strict measures will be taken against chronic quarantine violations discovered during the inspection process.

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