Advanced Ambulance Introduced with 200 Million KRW Government Funding, Creating Negative Pressure Inside Vehicle to Prevent Virus Leakage... Equipped with Emergency Rescue Equipment Set, Patient Monitoring Devices, and Negative Pressure Cover Patient Transporter
[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] Nowon-gu (District Mayor Oh Seung-rok) is introducing and operating a negative pressure special ambulance to ensure the safe and rapid transport of infectious disease patients in preparation for the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.
The negative pressure special ambulance is a specialized vehicle that maintains the internal air pressure lower than the outside atmospheric pressure, similar to a negative pressure isolation room, to prevent the virus from spreading outside.
The contaminated air inside the vehicle is filtered through a purification device called a 'HEPA filter' to completely block the external release of the virus.
The ambulance is equipped with a rescue equipment set for emergency treatment, monitoring devices to check the patient's condition in real time, and a patient stretcher covered with a negative pressure cover, designed to respond quickly to emergency medical situations.
It also features a larger internal space than a regular ambulance, allowing for professional emergency treatment during transport.
Additionally, the driver's cabin and the patient compartment are separated by a partition to block secondary infections to medical staff, enabling the complete isolation of infectious disease patients from the outside while transporting them to medical institutions.
Until now, the district has transported infectious disease patients and suspected cases using regular ambulances, but recognizing the need for a negative pressure special ambulance due to the ongoing COVID-19 situation, it promptly completed related procedures and received full national funding of 200 million KRW.
Currently, among the 25 autonomous districts in Seoul, only 12 districts are operating or preparing to introduce negative pressure special ambulances.
With this, the district now operates two ambulances: one regular ambulance and the newly deployed negative pressure special ambulance.
This is expected to establish a safer transport system by fundamentally blocking the possibility of secondary transmission of infectious diseases to medical staff and ambulance personnel during patient transport.
District Mayor Oh Seung-rok said, "We expedited the introduction of the negative pressure special ambulance to proactively respond to the prolonged COVID-19 crisis and various infectious disease management," adding, "We will prepare more thoroughly for the COVID-19 resurgence in the second half of the year and do our best to prevent its spread within the community."
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