Prime Minister Kim: "Quarantine Crisis... Worried About Halting the Hard-Won Return to Normal Life" (Update)

Metropolitan Area Medical Response Hospital Directors Meeting

Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum is giving opening remarks at the Metropolitan Medical Response Hospital Directors Meeting held on the 19th at the Government Seoul Office Annex in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Son Seon-hee] Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said on the 19th regarding the COVID-19 quarantine situation, "The situation we are currently facing is by no means easy," adding, "If we fail to overcome this newly arrived crisis, there is concern that the journey toward restoring daily life, which was difficult to start, may have to be temporarily halted."

On the morning of the same day, Prime Minister Kim presided over the 'Metropolitan Area Medical Response Hospital Directors Meeting' at the Government Seoul Office and said, "As breakthrough infections have noticeably increased mainly among the elderly, the shortage of hospital beds in the metropolitan area is becoming increasingly serious." He also expressed concern, saying, "As expected, the number of confirmed cases has increased by nearly 30% compared to October after the phased restoration of daily life, with 80% of these cases coming from the metropolitan area. In particular, cluster infections in nursing hospitals and facilities have surged."

Prime Minister Kim added, "Above all, the priority is to quickly expand the insufficient hospital beds," and said, "We will strive to ensure that the beds currently being secured can be operated as soon as possible by promptly supporting the personnel and equipment needed by each medical institution."

He also emphasized the efficient use of medical resources, stating, "We will improve the bed management system so that critically ill patients can receive treatment in intensive care beds first, and once their condition improves, they can be quickly transferred to recovery beds," and added, "Patient safety will be the top priority as we manage intensive care beds integrally without boundaries between the metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas."

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