Seoul City: "4,000 Hospitals and Pharmacies Open During Seol Holiday"

Operation of Public Health Center Screening Clinics
Vaccinations at 195 Institutions

[Asia Economy Reporter Kiho Sung] The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced on the 20th that it will designate and operate emergency medical institutions and ‘open hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies’ during the Lunar New Year holiday period. In addition, to ensure no gaps in COVID-19 testing, screening clinics at public health centers in all 25 districts will operate normally, and support will be provided for vaccinations at 195 medical institutions.

The 67 emergency medical institutions and general hospital emergency rooms in Seoul will operate 24 hours as usual, and users should check the operating hours of on-duty medical institutions and pharmacies before use.

The emergency medical institutions include a total of 67 locations: 31 regional and local emergency medical centers such as Seoul National University Hospital, 19 local emergency medical institutions including Seoul Metropolitan Seonam Hospital, and 17 hospitals operating emergency rooms. During the holiday period, 1,682 hospitals and clinics other than emergency medical institutions will provide emergency medical services for patients’ primary care. For citizens’ convenience, 3,034 pharmacies near the open hospitals and clinics will be designated and operated.

Information on ‘open hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies’ in neighborhoods during the holiday can be found on the Seoul Metropolitan Government website, the websites of the 25 autonomous districts, and the ‘Emergency Medical Portal.’ For phone inquiries, citizens can call 120 (Dasan Call Center) or 119 (Emergency Situation Management Center) without an area code. Smartphone app information is available through ‘Emergency Medical Information Service (e-gen).’

‘Over-the-counter drugs for safety’ (digestive aids, antipyretic analgesics, cold medicine, and four types of patches totaling 13 items) can be easily purchased at 7,299 authorized sales locations such as convenience stores (check the Seoul Metropolitan Government website → Over-the-counter Drugs for Safety).

Seoul is also making every effort in COVID-19 medical care and prevention. To enable COVID-19 testing during the holiday, screening clinics at public health centers in all 25 districts will operate, and ‘one-stop medical institutions’ for respiratory symptom patients and confirmed COVID-19 cases, as well as ‘pharmacies selling oral prescription drugs,’ will be listed on the Seoul Metropolitan Government website.

The ‘public health center screening clinics’ will operate normally in all 25 districts from January 21 to January 24 during the Lunar New Year holiday, allowing citizens who need COVID-19 PCR tests, including overseas arrivals, to use them. Overseas arrivals from China must undergo a COVID-19 PCR test within one day.

Information on screening clinics and temporary screening sites by district can be found on the Seoul Metropolitan Government website, the 120 Dasan Call Center, and district administrative information centers, as well as various portal sites. To ensure uninterrupted COVID-19 testing, district public health center screening clinics operate from 9:00 to 18:00 or 9:00 to 13:00, and temporary screening sites operate from 9:00 to 18:00 or 13:00 to 21:00 (19:00). Operating days and hours are flexibly adjusted according to district circumstances. Operating hours by district can also be checked through various portal sites in connection with the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency.

The integrated administrative call centers of the 25 districts operate 24 hours to provide sufficient consultation and guidance for respiratory symptom patients and confirmed COVID-19 cases. They will resolve citizens’ inquiries in real time during the holiday and respond immediately in case of any incidents.

Two ‘medical consultation centers’ also operate 24 hours. Confirmed patients can receive non-face-to-face medical treatment by phone if symptoms worsen during home treatment and obtain prescriptions nearby. Emergency patients requiring hospitalization can request bed allocation through non-face-to-face medical treatment by medical staff. Additionally, a ‘monitoring team for elderly living alone’ is operated for high-risk group management. For confirmed COVID-19 high-risk individuals aged 60 or older living alone, health monitoring is conducted more than three times during the isolation period. Their health status is checked, and they are guided to face-to-face and non-face-to-face medical institutions, including one-stop medical institutions.

Citizens with respiratory symptoms can receive testing, treatment, and prescriptions all at once at 352 nearby ‘one-stop medical institutions.’ The 243 ‘pharmacies selling oral COVID-19 treatment drugs’ available to confirmed COVID-19 patients can also be checked and used via the Seoul Metropolitan Government website and the Smart Seoul Map.

Seoul operates 195 entrusted medical institutions to allow citizens to receive COVID-19 vaccinations even during the holiday period. Detailed information such as operating dates by institution can be found on the Seoul Metropolitan Government blog under ‘2023 Lunar New Year Comprehensive Measures.’

Park Yumi, Director of the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s Citizen Health Bureau, said, “For mild illnesses such as stomach upset during the Lunar New Year holiday, please use nearby hospitals, clinics, public health centers, and pharmacies instead of emergency rooms.” She added, “We will do our best in medical care and prevention by operating public health center screening clinics, open hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies, and supporting vaccinations even during the holiday.”

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