Stepwise Reduction of Residential Treatment Centers to 12 Nationwide by Early May

Operation Rate of Saengchi Centers Drops from 50% in January to 10% on 29th
Reduced Staff and Equipment to Be Transferred to General Medical System

On January 17th, medical staff at the Dongho Living Treatment Center in Jung-gu, Seoul, are monitoring patients through closed-circuit television (CCTV). Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Young-won] The quarantine authorities plan to reduce the number of COVID-19 residential treatment centers to about one per region by early May.

On the 29th, the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters announced, "We will reduce the residential treatment centers to about one per region by early May and maintain two centers at the central headquarters level, cutting down to a total of 12 centers nationwide with around 2,400 beds."

As home treatment has become more active, the government has begun a phased reduction due to the sharp decline in the utilization rate of residential treatment centers used by mild COVID-19 patients. The utilization rate of residential treatment centers dropped from 50.9% on January 30 → 24.0% on February 27 → 28.8% on March 20, and further down to 10.4% on the 29th.

Son Young-rae, head of the Social Strategy Division at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, said, "With home treatment stabilizing and becoming widespread, about 90% of residential treatment centers are empty," adding, "As home treatment settles in, the utilization of residential treatment centers is expected to remain low, so considering unnecessary medical resources and costs, we are gradually reducing the residential treatment centers."

As of the 8th, there were 89 centers nationwide with 19,703 beds, but by the 28th, this decreased to 53 centers with 12,389 beds. The medical personnel and equipment saved through the reduction of residential treatment centers will be converted to COVID-19 dedicated beds and the general medical system.

Meanwhile, before a full transition to the general medical system, the government sees the need to maintain some residential treatment centers for vulnerable residents or patients requiring care, and has decided to keep a minimum number of beds available.

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