Pregnant Woman Confirmed with COVID-19 Airlifted by Helicopter from Gyeonggi to Gyeongnam Due to Lack of Hospital Beds

Seongnam→Cheonan→Jinju... Arrival at Hospital 8 Hours After Report Received

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] A pregnant woman who was receiving home treatment after testing positive for COVID-19 was airlifted by helicopter to a hospital in another region about 300 km away due to a shortage of hospital beds.

According to the Gyeonggi Fire and Disaster Headquarters on the 27th, at around 2:18 a.m., a 119 emergency call was received reporting that a pregnant woman, Ms. A (36), living in Jungwon-gu, Seongnam City, was experiencing bleeding after her water broke. Ms. A, who was 36 weeks pregnant, had tested positive for COVID-19 and was undergoing home treatment. Paramedics who responded to the call placed Ms. A in an ambulance and contacted about 20 nearby hospitals, but all replied that there were no available beds for a COVID-19 positive pregnant woman. Consequently, the paramedics secured a bed at a university hospital in Jinju, Gyeongnam, approximately 300 km away, and began the transfer.

They transported Ms. A by ambulance to the helicopter pad at a university hospital in Cheonan, Chungnam, and at around 9:30 a.m., she was airlifted by ambulance helicopter to the hospital in Gyeongnam. Ms. A arrived at the hospital at 10:27 a.m., about eight hours after the initial emergency call, and received treatment. At that time, Ms. A was not in imminent labor, and as of the afternoon, both she and the fetus were reported to be in stable condition without major health issues.

A fire department official stated, "When a pregnant woman is COVID-19 positive, there is a high possibility that the fetus is also infected, so delivery must take place at a hospital with a neonatal isolation unit. However, there are not many hospitals equipped with such facilities, which makes transfers difficult. Moreover, just before Ms. A was transferred, another pregnant woman who tested positive on a COVID-19 diagnostic kit was also being transferred, making it even harder to find an available bed."

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