[Asia Economy Reporter Chunhee Lee] The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced on the 29th that it will provide information on hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, screening clinics, and temporary screening centers open during the Lunar New Year holiday (29th to the 2nd of next month) to minimize inconvenience in medical use and ensure a safe holiday without medical gaps.
A total of 501 institutions operating emergency rooms will provide 24-hour medical services as usual for emergency patients. On the Lunar New Year day, the 1st of next month, only 565 private medical institutions and 1,499 pharmacies nationwide are scheduled to be open. Even though many private medical institutions will be closed, 191 public health medical institutions, including public health centers, are expected to remain open.
Information on hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, and screening clinics open during the Lunar New Year holiday can be obtained through the Health and Welfare Call Center (129), Emergency Situation Management Center (119), and city/province call centers (120). It will also be easily accessible through the Emergency Medical Portal, the Ministry of Health and Welfare website, and the Emergency Medical Information Application (app).
In particular, the Emergency Medical Portal switched to a holiday-dedicated screen starting at 0:00 on the 29th, the beginning of the holiday. Users can check information on open medical institutions through a separate notification window. Additionally, major portals such as Naver and Daum will prominently display results when searching for "Holiday Hospital," making access easy.
The Emergency Medical Information app shows hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, and screening clinics open nearby on a map based on the user's location. It also allows users to check consultation hours and medical departments. Furthermore, it contains useful information for emergencies, such as nighttime medical institution information, Automated External Defibrillator (AED) locations, and emergency treatment guidelines.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare and local governments will operate emergency medical situation rooms during the Lunar New Year holiday and monitor the operation status of open hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, screening clinics, and temporary screening centers. The Central Emergency Medical Situation Room (National Medical Center) will operate 24 hours, maintaining a standby status for Disaster Medical Assistance Teams (DMAT) at 40 disaster base hospitals nationwide, preparing for disasters and mass casualty incidents as usual.
Park Hyang, Director of Public Health Policy at the Ministry of Health and Welfare, stated, "We will do our best to operate the emergency medical system during the holiday so that the public can have a safe and comfortable Lunar New Year holiday." She added, "As visits to emergency rooms are expected to increase due to the Omicron COVID-19 variant, for mild patients, please use regional emergency medical centers or open general hospitals and clinics rather than large hospital emergency rooms to respond to severe emergency situations."
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