"Responding to COVID-19 Resurgence" … Ministry of Health and Senior Hospitals Discuss Bed Reactivation

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] The Ministry of Health and Welfare held a meeting with tertiary hospitals to review the medical system, including the reactivation of hospital beds in preparation for the resurgence of COVID-19.

On the morning of the 14th at 8 a.m., Lee Ki-il, the 2nd Vice Minister of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, held a non-face-to-face video conference at the Government Sejong Complex with Yoon Dong-seop, President of the Korea Hospital Association, and directors of 45 tertiary hospitals nationwide to discuss quarantine and medical response measures for the COVID-19 resurgence and to hear medical community opinions on the preparation status for reactivating hospital beds.

The government forecasts that the COVID-19 resurgence may occur earlier than expected, with up to 200,000 confirmed cases between mid-August and mid-October, and reported the 'Medical Response Plan for Resurgence' at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters meeting the day before.

Currently, there are 1,466 intensive care unit (ICU) beds, 2,291 semi-severe beds, 1,948 moderate beds, and 116 mild beds nationwide. If daily confirmed cases reach 200,000, an additional 1,405 beds (435 severe and 970 semi-severe) will be needed. The quarantine authorities explained that they plan to secure and prepare to reactivate these beds accordingly.

At the meeting, the government provided detailed explanations of the response plan to hospital directors to ensure that the medical response measures are implemented promptly and without disruption, seeking active understanding and cooperation from hospitals.

In particular, the discussion focused on reactivating severe beds in tertiary hospitals with high treatment capacity for critically ill COVID-19 patients, patients with underlying diseases, and those with complex conditions.

Vice Minister Lee Ki-il stated, "The government will establish a bed securing plan in advance and prepare to operate treatment beds promptly and timely so that there will be no disruption in medical response regardless of the scale of resurgence in the second half of this year." He added, "Securing beds at a level where high-risk severe patients can quickly receive appropriate treatment is of utmost importance for the lives and safety of the people during the resurgence phase, and the role of tertiary hospitals with high treatment capacity is necessary," urging cooperation.

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