Gwangju Fire Department Urges "For COVID Home Treatment Inquiries, Contact the Consultation Center"

Local confirmed cases exceed 2,000 daily... Increase in 119 emergency consultation

Concerns over disruptions in fire, rescue, and emergency call handling operations

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] The Gwangju Metropolitan City Fire Safety Headquarters has urged that for general inquiries about COVID-19 home treatment in non-emergency situations, people should first receive phone consultations and prescriptions through the ‘Gwangju City Home Treatment Medical Consultation Center’ or the ‘Administrative Information Center.’

As the daily confirmed cases in the Gwangju area exceed 2,000 consecutively, 119 ambulance consultations for home treatment patients are also rapidly increasing.

This raises concerns about potential disruptions in the reception of emergency reports related to fire, rescue, and ambulance services.

For the general management group of COVID-19 home treatment, if symptoms such as fever occur, they can use phone consultations, prescriptions, and medication costs free of charge during the home treatment period through the Home Treatment Medical Consultation Centers (7 locations, 24 hours) and local clinics.

Administrative inquiries and consultations regarding isolation compliance and other matters can be received in detail through the district home treatment administrative information centers (5 locations).

The Gwangju Fire Safety Headquarters plans to actively promote the revamped COVID-19 treatment system through various fire safety activities such as social networking services (SNS), the internet, and fire safety education to prevent delays in emergency treatment and hospital transport for general emergency patients.

Additionally, starting next month, seven dedicated personnel will be assigned to the 119 Comprehensive Situation Room to handle COVID-19 related tasks, including information sharing via a 24-hour direct phone line with the home treatment management team, confirming bed assignments, relaying information to ambulance teams, and sharing transport results, thereby strengthening the situation management response system.

No Jeomrye, head of the 119 Comprehensive Situation Room, said, “We ask that 119 calls be restrained in non-emergency situations,” and added, “We will strengthen the situation management response system in preparation for the surge in home treatment patients and do our best to ensure there are no gaps in the core duties of 119.”

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