Government to Continue Expanding In-Person Outpatient Clinics... Monitoring for High-Risk Groups Reduced to Once

Sangmin Lee, 2nd Deputy Head of Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, "Stepwise Adjustment Plan for Home Treatment to be Implemented from the 6th of Next Month"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The government will continuously expand outpatient clinics to allow face-to-face treatment during the COVID-19 isolation period and adjust the monitoring frequency for high-risk groups from the current twice to once.

On the 31st, Lee Sang-min, the 2nd Deputy Head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCH) and Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, stated in his opening remarks at the CDSCH meeting, "Considering the overall decline in the scale of the outbreak and the decision to introduce a fast track for high-risk groups, we plan to implement a phased adjustment plan for home treatment starting from the 6th of next month."

The government will first continuously expand outpatient clinics capable of providing face-to-face treatment. As of the 30th, there are 6,446 outpatient clinics. The 2nd Deputy Head said, "We will continue to expand outpatient clinics so that patients can receive face-to-face treatment rather than non-face-to-face treatment during the isolation period," adding, "We will also strengthen public guidance through private portal map services and text message notifications."

The monitoring frequency for high-risk groups will also be reduced. The government has been conducting monitoring twice for home-treated patients classified as high-risk groups but plans to adjust this to once going forward. At the same time, to prepare for a resurgence of COVID-19, the government announced it will proactively promote the renovation of 238 crematories with national funding support.

The 2nd Deputy Head explained, "We will adjust the monitoring frequency for high-risk groups among home treatment patients from twice to once," adding, "The 24-hour response system will be maintained as it is, and in preparation for a COVID-19 resurgence, we will also proceed with the reorganization of cremation facilities." He continued, "To prevent confusion among bereaved families, we will promote the renovation of 238 crematories and install refrigerated storage units and indoor/outdoor low-temperature storage rooms in 60 cremation facilities to secure additional storage space."

Meanwhile, the number of new COVID-19 confirmed cases was about 17,000 as of that day, marking the first time since February 1st that the number dropped to the 10,000 range on a Tuesday. The average daily number of confirmed cases last week was about 18,000, a decrease of approximately 30% compared to the previous week, continuing a decline for 10 consecutive weeks.

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