At Least 20 Confirmed Cases from 'Itaewon Club'... Government Establishes Joint Hospital Bed Response System

Response Stages Classified by Scale of Confirmed Cases in the Seoul Metropolitan Area
Designated as Regional Base Hospitals and Seoul Metropolitan Area Cooperative Hospitals

Kim Kang-lip, the 1st General Coordinator of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (Vice Minister of Health and Welfare, center), is attending the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters-local government video conference regarding the COVID-19 confirmed cases in Yongin on the afternoon of the 8th at the Government Sejong Complex in Sejong City. (Photo by Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Jiwon] The number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) related to the 'Itaewon clubs' in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, has increased to at least 20.

Kim Kang-lip, the 1st General Coordinator of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCHQ), stated at a regular briefing held at the Government Sejong Complex on the 9th, "Including 15 visitors to Itaewon related to the confirmed patient in Yongin, a total of 20 people have been confirmed as of yesterday."

The COVID-19 cluster infection that occurred at the Itaewon clubs visited by patient A (29), the 66th confirmed case in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, is spreading not only in the Seoul metropolitan area including Seoul, Incheon, and Gyeonggi but also to Busan.

As of midnight on the day, 12 new confirmed cases in Seoul, 3 in Gyeonggi Province, 1 in Incheon, and 1 in Busan related to patient A were reported. Including patient A himself, one acquaintance who accompanied him to the club, and one coworker, a total of 20 people have been infected with COVID-19.

Amid growing concerns that cluster infections centered around the 'Itaewon clubs' could spread further, the government has decided to establish a 'Joint Bed Response System' that allows local governments to jointly utilize hospital beds to prepare for the spread of infections in the metropolitan area.

The CDSCHQ classifies the daily number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the metropolitan area (Seoul, Gyeonggi, Incheon) into four stages from 1 to 4 and will operate a joint response system accordingly starting this month.

In stages 1 (fewer than 50 cases) and 2 (50 to 99 cases), where daily confirmed cases are under 100, each local government will designate 1 to 3 regional base hospitals and joint living treatment centers based on basic demand and operate them on a pilot basis.

When daily confirmed cases reach 100 or more, corresponding to stages 3 (100 to 999 cases) and 4 (1,000 or more cases), the level of cooperation will be elevated.

Existing regional base hospitals will be designated as metropolitan cooperative hospitals. These metropolitan cooperative hospitals will ensure rapid bed allocation and treatment.

A working-level consultative body for establishing the specific joint response system will be formed and operated starting from the 11th.

From the end of this month, additional regional cooperative systems will be established nationwide, including the Chungcheong, Honam, Gyeongbuk, Gyeongnam, and Jeju regions.

Kim Kang-lip, the 1st General Coordinator, said, "In cases where cluster infections that are difficult for a single local government to handle occur, it is necessary to prepare a metropolitan joint bed activity cooperation system to utilize resources from neighboring local governments to prevent medical gaps caused by administrative boundaries."