Jeongeup-si Begins Full Operation of Screening Clinics... Strengthening COVID-19 Response

Published 12 Jan.2022 13:24(KST)

[Jeongeup=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Jaegil] Jeongeup City in Jeonbuk announced on the 12th that it has newly established a screening clinic and has begun full-scale operation to actively respond to infectious disease crises, including COVID-19.

The city had been operating the screening clinic in makeshift and poor conditions such as negative pressure tents and containers, but it was criticized for being vulnerable to external environments like heatwaves and strong winds.

Concerns were also raised about the risk of infection due to direct contact between medical staff and examinees during the testing process.

Accordingly, the city established a permanent screening clinic on the first floor of the health center annex to respond quickly in case of infectious disease outbreaks and to ensure the safety of citizens and medical staff.

The newly created screening clinic involved a total project cost of 400 million KRW (140 million KRW from the national government, 40 million KRW from the provincial government, and 220 million KRW from the city government).

It covers a total area of 116㎡ and consists of an epidemiological investigation room, three specimen rooms, and an X-ray room, equipped with an automatic ventilation system and heating and cooling system.

To ensure the safety of both patients and medical staff, an automatic negative pressure control system was introduced that applies negative pressure to the examinee area and positive pressure to the medical staff area, separating the spaces for examinees and medical personnel.

Additionally, an electronic questionnaire system using QR codes and URL addresses, and a kiosk (touchscreen unmanned terminal) ticketing system for queue management were introduced to shorten waiting times and efficiently manage on-site operations.

The screening clinic will be used for infectious disease response management during outbreaks of new infectious diseases such as COVID-19, and during normal times, it will be used for managing patients with infectious diseases such as tuberculosis and measles.

A city official said, “We have established a system that can detect COVID-19 patients early and guarantee the safety of medical staff,” adding, “We will continue to do our best to make Jeongeup safe from COVID-19 as well as various infectious diseases.”

Meanwhile, the Jeongeup City screening clinic operates year-round from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and anyone can receive a free COVID-19 PCR test even without symptoms if they wish.