Health Authorities Inspect Medical System for Re-epidemic Preparedness... Air Travel Recovers to 58% Compared to Pre-COVID Levels

"Winter Reemergence Expected with 200,000 Cases" ... Disease Control Cheong Announcement on the 9th

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo is presiding over the Itaewon accident and COVID-19 Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters meeting held at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 4th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Young-won] The quarantine authorities have reviewed the medical system in preparation for the resurgence of COVID-19 during the winter season. With international flights expected to recover to 58% of the 2019 level, entry and exit quarantine measures will also be strictly managed.

At the meeting held on the 4th, chaired by Prime Minister Han Duck-soo (Head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters), discussions were held on the winter epidemic outlook and future plans, the status of normalization of entry and exit, and quarantine situation checks.

Last month on the 19th, the government announced a plan to establish a medical response system to improve medical accessibility, focusing on children. First, to enable rapid treatment, the principle of spatial and temporal separation between confirmed patients and general patients was abolished. According to a government survey, 33.5% of the 2,483 one-stop medical institutions were treating patients without spatial and temporal separation.

Additionally, to smoothly link hospitalization in general isolation beds from one-stop medical institutions, the sharing of bed information within the region has been activated, and for rapid emergency room use by emergency patients, a system of treatment first and testing later has been implemented.

Authorities have decided to thoroughly strengthen quarantine responses in line with the expected increase in international flights. Since June, restrictions on the number of flights and flight ban hours were lifted, and from September to October, pre- and post-arrival PCR tests have been abolished, leading to recovery in international flight performance and arrivals. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport forecasts that the number of international flights this winter will recover to 58% of the 2019 level before the COVID-19 outbreak.

In response, the government is inspecting airlines' safety management systems and operating quarantine measures such as periodic disinfection at airports and inside aircraft.

According to quarantine authorities, related agencies at ports and entry points have jointly inspected the entry and exit system to prevent the spread of COVID-19, prepared response plans for symptomatic and confirmed cases, and conducted simulation drills.

Meanwhile, in his opening remarks at the meeting, Prime Minister Han said, "This winter's epidemic is expected to see up to 200,000 confirmed cases per day depending on the inflow of variant viruses." The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency plans to announce the winter epidemic outlook and future plans through a briefing on the 9th.

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