Proposal at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters Meeting: Management of Self-Diagnosis Kit Supply
Park Wan-su, Governor of Gyeongnam Province, attending the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters meeting.
[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Se-ryeong] “To properly prepare for the COVID-19 resurgence, government-level guidelines for designating hospital beds are absolutely necessary.”
On the 13th, Park Wan-su, Governor of Gyeongnam Province, made this statement while attending the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters meeting on COVID-19.
Governor Park asserted, “If the government provides guidelines for designating hospital beds considering factors such as population, number of confirmed cases, hospitalization rate, and duration of stay by each city and province in response to the increase in confirmed cases, it will be easier to support with national funds or to work on-site.”
He emphasized that the government should present guidelines for designating hospital beds based on increments of 50,000 daily confirmed cases nationwide to prepare for the increase in severe and moderate patients requiring hospitalization.
He added, “If the government establishes guidelines, pre-secured hospital beds can be immediately assigned to severe patients for hospitalization, which will lead to a reduction in the severity rate and mortality rate, enabling more effective management of confirmed cases.”
On the same day, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said, “The resurgence started faster than initially expected,” and added, “The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency and experts warn that up to 200,000 confirmed cases per day could occur between mid-August and the end of September.”
Lee Ki-il, the first chief coordinator of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters and the second vice minister of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, responded to Governor Park’s proposal by saying, “There are regional disparities in hospital bed availability, and since the 12th, we have been investigating the nationwide situation,” and “We will present hospital bed guidelines early next week, including plans to reuse previously operated beds.”
Governor Park also requested, “Due to the impact of the COVID-19 resurgence, it is difficult to purchase COVID-19 self-test kits in the market,” and asked for management of kit supply and an increase in distribution.
In response, Oh Yu-kyung, Director of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, stated, “Currently, there is a stock of self-test kits sufficient for 40 million people, and there are no production issues,” and added, “We will manage the supply situation to ensure smooth purchases in the market.”
According to the province, after the official declaration of the COVID-19 resurgence by health authorities on the 8th, the average daily confirmed cases in Gyeongnam during June were 496.3, but as of July 12, the average daily confirmed cases increased to 1,060.9.
The hospital bed utilization rate in Gyeongnam has been on the rise since July, with 10.4% on the 7th, 14.3% on the 8th, 15.6% on the 9th, 18.2% on the 10th, 19.5% on the 11th, and 23.4% on the 12th. However, the province has begun preparations to operate up to 820 beds from the currently operating 77 beds.
The government announced the following COVID-19 resurgence measures on the same day: ▲expansion of the fourth vaccination target group ▲additional hospital bed procurement ▲expansion of ‘one-stop treatment institutions’ in hospitals and clinics.
They stated that the mandatory 7-day quarantine for confirmed cases will be maintained, and no mandatory social distancing measures will be implemented at this stage.
After the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters meeting, Governor Park presided over the Gyeongsangnam-do Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters meeting and urged the 18 cities and counties to ▲conduct special inspections of infection-vulnerable places such as multi-use facilities, beaches, and water play facilities during the vacation season ▲prepare preemptive measures to deploy additional medical personnel in anticipation of a surge in confirmed cases after the vacation season ▲increase vaccination rates among the elderly ▲expand screening clinics.
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