Gurye-gun Public Health Center, Dedicated to COVID-19 for 3 Years... What Lies Ahead

All Staff at Public Health Centers Sacrifice Holidays to Fully Commit to COVID-19 Response

24-Hour Home Care Support Counseling Center Operates to Handle Emergencies Even at Night

[Gurye=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Yuk Miseok] The Gurye County Health and Medical Center has been battling COVID-19 for the third consecutive year.

On the 14th, the county announced that since the first confirmed COVID-19 case in Korea in January 2020, the Health and Medical Center staff have been fighting tearfully on the front lines to block infections and manage confirmed cases amid the prolonged pandemic.

The long-term battle with COVID-19 began with the first confirmed case.

The county health center immediately set up and operated screening clinics and was the second in Jeonnam to establish and operate a drive-through screening clinic, responding swiftly.

The first COVID-19 confirmed case in the Gurye area occurred in August of that year when a confirmed patient from Suncheon visited a hospital in Gurye, infecting four residents.

They stayed up all night conducting epidemiological investigations using CCTV footage of the confirmed patient's movements, quarantine management logs, card usage history, and vehicle usage inquiries, identifying contacts and placing about 250 close contacts under self-quarantine.

Since the occurrence of confirmed cases, from mid-October last year, family transmission and community spread continued due to the Delta variant.

Wearing protective suits in the heat caused them to be soaked in sweat within five minutes, enduring long hours of over six hours, and in winter, they focused on blocking COVID-19 while enduring severe pain from exposure of hands and feet to the cold.

Since early February, with the Omicron variant becoming dominant, confirmed cases surged, exceeding 100 daily, with a record high of 262 cases on the 29th of last month.

As of the 12th, the cumulative number of confirmed cases reached 5,984, showing an incidence rate of 23.8%.

This reflects the dedication and hard work of the health center staff.

As the COVID-19 situation worsened, all health center employees gave up weekends and holidays, maintaining a 24-hour operation system to minimize inconvenience to residents and do their best for life and safety.

They rationally and efficiently utilize limited quarantine and medical resources to quickly classify the severity of confirmed cases, transfer patients to hospital beds, operate a 24-hour home care support counseling center, guide and manage local hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies, and promptly respond to various needs of confirmed patients such as specimen collection visits for those with mobility difficulties.

There were many critical moments in managing confirmed cases.

A significant number of confirmed patients refused transfer to treatment facilities, causing conflicts with medical staff, and during the process of moving home after facility quarantine release, some exhibited severe verbal and physical aggression, causing a staff member to take about three months of sick leave for psychological treatment and still suffer from severe mental trauma.

Despite these adverse conditions, the battle against COVID-19 has resulted in fewer confirmed cases in Gurye compared to other cities and counties in the province.

A recent confirmed patient, Mr. A, said, “During a critical time when home treatment was difficult due to underlying conditions, I was quickly transferred to a hospital with the help of the health center and overcame the crisis,” expressing gratitude for the dedicated support and swift actions of the health center staff.

Lee Gwang-dong, Acting Governor of Gurye County, said, “Although the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic has accumulated fatigue among health center staff, we will do our best to minimize inconvenience to residents and protect their safety and lives.”

Gurye=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Yuk Miseok kun5783@asiae.co.kr