Vice Minister Park Minsu: "Rapid Increase in ER Flu Patients... Steadily Advancing Healthcare Reform Tasks"

Chairing the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters Meeting During Doctors' Collective Action
"Operating an Emergency Medical System Focused on Severe and Emergency Patients"

As the influenza (flu) epidemic intensifies, the number of patients visiting emergency rooms is rapidly increasing, the government announced that it will make every effort to maintain an emergency medical system to ensure there are no disruptions in patient care.

Park Min-su, Vice Minister of Health and Welfare, is presiding over the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters meeting on doctors' collective action at the Government Sejong Complex on the 3rd. Photo by Ministry of Health and Welfare

On the 3rd, Park Min-su, Vice Minister of Health and Welfare, presided over a meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters regarding doctors' collective action at the Government Complex Sejong, stating, "With the onset of the full winter cold, the number of influenza patients with high fever and cough has significantly increased."

According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, during the last week of 2024 (December 22?28), among 1,000 outpatients visiting 300 nationwide influenza sentinel surveillance medical institutions, 73.9 were suspected influenza cases, a sharp increase of about 2.4 times compared to 31.3 cases the previous week.

During a similar period from December 23 to 27, the average daily number of emergency room visits was 18,437, an increase of about 3,300 compared to the previous week. Of the increased visitors, 1,357 patients, approximately 41%, were influenza cases.

Vice Minister Park said, "The influenza epidemic is expected to continue for the time being," and urged, "Citizens should adhere to personal hygiene rules such as wearing masks and washing hands, and seniors aged 65 and over, pregnant women, and children should actively participate in vaccination."

He added, "Since the government has designated and is operating 115 fever clinics since the 23rd of last month, please prioritize using fever clinics if you need medical care at night or on holidays."

Earlier, health authorities issued an "Influenza Epidemic Advisory" nationwide from the 20th of last month, and the epidemic is expected to continue for the time being. Respiratory infectious diseases like influenza can potentially progress to severe conditions, so it is important to prevent infection in advance and seek treatment as soon as possible within 48 hours if symptoms appear.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare plans to designate and operate a "Lunar New Year Emergency Response Period" for two weeks from the 22nd of this month to the 5th of next month in preparation for the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday. They will establish an emergency medical system operation plan and designate hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies open during the holiday period.

Discussions on medical reform to revitalize regional and essential medical services are also progressing. Following the "Regional Hospital Development and Primary Medical Care Revitalization Plan Forum" held on the 30th of last month, a forum on reform plans for non-reimbursable services and actual expense insurance will be held next week to gather opinions from various sectors.

Vice Minister Park said, "The government will continue to steadily pursue the promised medical reform tasks," and added, "We will operate the emergency medical system focused on severe and emergency patients without any disruption."

Meanwhile, before the meeting began, Vice Minister Park offered condolences for the victims of the Jeju Air disaster and expressed deep sympathy and condolences to the bereaved families. Currently, the Ministry of Health and Welfare is providing on-site emergency medical support, psychological support and funeral assistance for the bereaved families, and applying measures such as health insurance premium reductions and exemptions from national pension premium payments following the declaration of a special disaster area.

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