Gyeonggi-do Prepares COVID-19 Home Treatment Measures... Hotline Established and Emergency Room Operated

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Gyeonggi Province is promoting measures such as establishing a hotline between public health centers and fire stations and operating dedicated emergency rooms for COVID-19 to respond organically to the surge in COVID-19 patients receiving home treatment.

On the 28th, the province announced that it has prepared and begun implementing improvement plans for organic responses among city and county governments, emergency medical centers, infectious disease dedicated hospitals, and public health centers in cases of emergency patients caused not only by COVID-19 symptoms but also by trauma and other diseases.

As of 0:00 on the 28th, there are 223,864 COVID-19 patients receiving home treatment in the province.

First, to prepare for emergencies involving home-treated patients, the province established a 24-hour hotline between public health centers and fire departments. This measure aims to quickly transport patients through smooth communication between public health centers and fire stations in the case of COVID-19 patients. Additionally, to prevent emergency room overcrowding, patients with minor trauma or burns will be guided to receive face-to-face treatment at outpatient clinics or other community medical facilities.

Earlier, from the 25th, Gimpo Woori Hospital and Namyangju Hanyang Hospital were designated as infectious disease dedicated hospitals. Gyeonggi Provincial Medical Center Icheon Hospital will be additionally designated as a dedicated hospital starting from the 2nd of next month. These hospitals operate dedicated emergency rooms that can exclusively treat mild COVID-19 emergency patients.

In particular, Namyangju Hanyang Hospital plans to operate additional beds for maternity patients to separate them from general patients, preventing confusion and enabling stable and prompt admission of emergency patients.

Ryu Young-cheol, Director of the Health and Wellness Bureau of the province, explained, "Although we continuously monitor the transportation of COVID-19 patients, cases of delayed transport are occurring. We are striving to establish a more organic system involving city and county governments, public health centers, related medical institutions, and fire departments responsible for transport."

The province currently operates COVID-19 home treatment administrative guidance centers in all 31 cities and counties, with a total of 543 staff providing a 24-hour consultation system to minimize inconvenience to residents. Contact information for the COVID-19 home treatment administrative guidance centers can be found on the websites of the province and city/county governments.

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