Ministry of Health and Welfare Raises Infectious Disease Crisis Alert Level from 'Caution' to 'Warning'

As the fourth confirmed case of Wuhan pneumonia (novel coronavirus) has occurred domestically, the Ministry of Health and Welfare has raised the infectious disease crisis alert level from 'Caution' to 'Warning'.

On the 27th, the Ministry made this decision after a crisis assessment meeting held by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. Accordingly, the government established the 'Central Accident Response Headquarters for Novel Coronavirus Infection' with Minister Park Neung-hoo as the head, and held the first meeting at 3 PM on the same day at the Government Sejong Complex.

The Central Accident Response Headquarters will actively support quarantine measures by deploying personnel to allow the Central Disease Control Headquarters to focus on quarantine tasks, holding daily video conferences, and sharing real-time situations.

At the first meeting, the headquarters decided to strengthen domestic quarantine capabilities, enhance the response capacity of local medical institutions to block patient inflow, early detect suspected cases, and manage contacts.

First, about 250 personnel from the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Ministry of National Defense, National Police Agency, and local governments will be deployed to quarantine sites starting on the 28th.

Additionally, screening clinics will be designated at public health centers and local medical centers in each city, county, and district, and response measures of medical institutions will be promoted upon detection of suspected cases to prevent the spread of novel coronavirus infection in medical institutions and communities. A screening clinic is a medical facility separated from emergency rooms or medical institutions, where individuals with suspected infectious symptoms receive medical examination before entering emergency rooms or medical institutions.

The National Medical Center, designated as the central infectious disease specialized hospital, will shift its focus to specialized treatment functions for novel coronavirus patients and support the Central Accident Response Headquarters by assisting epidemiological investigations, research support, and infectious disease resource management.

Minister Park emphasized at the meeting, "We will make every effort at the inter-ministerial level to block the domestic inflow and spread of novel coronavirus infection," and stressed, "Cooperation from the medical community and the public is crucial to overcome the infectious disease crisis."

He added, "Medical institutions must verify patients' travel history to China, conduct screening for those with symptoms, thoroughly prevent hospital infections, and report suspected cases to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency call center (1339) or the local public health center."