Prime Minister Han visits National Medical Center... Inspects beds in preparation for COVID resurgence

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Kim Hyewon] Prime Minister Han Deok-su visited the National Medical Center located in Jung-gu, Seoul on the afternoon of the 13th to inspect the COVID-19 medical response situation.

The visit was made to check the status of securing and operating COVID-19 hospital beds amid the start of the COVID-19 resurgence and to encourage the officials involved.

Prime Minister Han first received a report on the COVID-19 response status of the National Medical Center, which plays a pivotal role in infectious disease response, and checked the status of bed operations. The National Medical Center is equipped with a diagnosis, treatment, and testing system for new infectious disease patients and operates 51 negative pressure beds.

At the site, Prime Minister Han emphasized, "Proper preparation for treatment and transfer of severe patients is a decisive factor in winning the fight against COVID-19." He added, "Currently, the bed occupancy rate is 16%, so there is sufficient capacity, but we plan to secure an additional 1,411 beds in preparation for cases where daily confirmed patients increase up to 200,000," mentioning the government's bed plan.

Prime Minister Han then moved to the National Medical Center’s Central Emergency Medical Center to review the emergency medical response situation. He stated, "Systematic situation management in the emergency room is very important to protect patients in emergency situations," and urged the quarantine authorities to thoroughly inspect and prepare so that there are no gaps in the entire process, including bed allocation and transfer, to ensure emergency patients receive prompt treatment.

Earlier that morning, Prime Minister Han chaired the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters meeting and announced, "We will expand the 4th COVID-19 vaccination, currently administered to those aged 60 and over and immunocompromised individuals, to people in their 50s and those aged 18 and over with underlying conditions." For vulnerable facilities, the 4th vaccination will be expanded not only to nursing hospitals and facilities but also to facilities for the disabled and homeless shelters.

The mandatory 7-day isolation period for confirmed COVID-19 cases will be maintained, but at this stage, mandatory social distancing measures will not be implemented. However, if there is a significant change in the epidemic situation, selective and phased introduction of social distancing will be considered.

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