Caregivers Returning from China and Other Countries at Long-Term Care Hospitals Excluded from Duties Over 97%

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heung-soon] Among caregivers working at over 1,400 nursing hospitals nationwide, more than 97% of those who had visited China or other countries were excluded from their duties.

According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters for the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), a survey conducted on 1,435 nursing hospitals nationwide from the 17th to 18th found that the exclusion rate of caregivers with travel history to China or other countries was 97.4%.

The headquarters reported that most individuals with travel history to China within 14 days were already excluded from work upon request from hospitals or patients, but one person remained unexcluded, prompting the government to take on-site action. All workers with overseas travel history, including medical staff, administrative employees, and cleaning contractors, were excluded from work. The visitor restriction rate was 99.4%.

This survey was conducted to prevent infections among the elderly vulnerable to COVID-19 within nursing hospitals. The headquarters stated, "We plan to conduct weekly inspections to ensure nursing hospitals continue to comply with infection prevention measures," adding, "We will share this information with local governments and continue to request management and supervision of individual hospitals."