"Severe Condition Father on Intubation, Notified to Leave Hospital After 20 Days of Isolation"

Government: "For the purpose of utilizing medical resources... extension possible according to medical staff's judgment"

On the 22nd, medical staff are caring for patients in the intensive care unit for severe COVID-19 cases at the National Health Insurance Service Ilsan Hospital, a dedicated COVID-19 hospital in Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Seohyun] A claim has been raised that an elderly patient receiving isolated treatment as a severe COVID-19 patient was notified to leave the hospital because 20 days had passed since isolation.

On the 27th, a petition titled "I am a child supporting my 75-year-old father" was posted on the Blue House National Petition Board.

In the post, the petitioner explained that their father was initially a mild patient but his condition gradually worsened to severe and critical, and he had been receiving isolated treatment in the hospital for a month.

The petitioner appealed, "My father is currently intubated and in a very difficult condition, but the hospital notified us that since 20 days have passed since isolation, he must leave the hospital where he is currently being treated."

According to the isolation release criteria implemented by the government from the 17th, patients can be admitted to COVID-19 isolation beds for up to 20 days after symptom onset, and after that, they must either be moved out of isolation to a general ward or be discharged. This measure is to promote bed turnover so that isolation beds can be prioritized for patients who truly need intensive care in COVID-19 intensive care units.

If refused, patients must bear the cost of COVID-19 isolation beds and other treatment expenses, and if they violate the order to move to a general ward according to the Infectious Disease Prevention Act, an additional fine of up to 1 million KRW may be imposed.

Regarding this, the petitioner said, "It is hard to accept being told to move hospitals and to bear the treatment costs," and expressed concern, "I am very worried that my father might pass away while being transferred to another hospital."

He added, "I want everyone to know that this is by no means just our family's problem. Does it make sense for the government to ask citizens fighting for their lives due to COVID complications to vacate hospital beds?" and emphasized, "Please correct the administration that shifts the issue of moving critical COVID-19 patients and all treatment costs onto powerless citizens."

Meanwhile, the government has explained that these isolation release criteria "do not mean stopping treatment."

At a regular briefing on the 24th, Lee Ki-il, the 1st Controller of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, stated, "After 20 days, there is no infectious transmission risk, so to utilize high-level medical resources used for isolation treatment, patients are transferred to general intensive care units or wards, or discharged," and added, "If medical staff still judge that isolation treatment is necessary, the isolation period can be extended."

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