Seoul Jan. 28 (BUS): Next month, South Korea plans to add hundreds of small neighborhood hospitals and clinics to treat thousands more people expected to contract COVID-19 as the omicron wave develops, according to the Associated Press.
Health officials announced the plans Friday as daily cases in South Korea reached a new high for the fourth consecutive day.
The number of new infections was 16,096, twice the number reported on Monday. Experts say the omicron-driven surge could last for five to eight weeks and raise daily cases to more than 100,000.
Officials have been quick to reshape the country’s response to the pandemic, including increasing treatments at home, reducing quarantine periods, and expanding the use of rapid test kits while providing lab testing mostly to at-risk groups.
The country’s medical response to COVID-19 has mainly relied on large hospitals with advanced equipment and more beds.
Officials are now trying to rally smaller hospitals and clinics to diagnose and monitor tens of thousands of people with mild or moderate cases who will be treated at home in the coming weeks.
Lee Kee-il, the deputy health minister, said officials are consulting closely with physician groups as they aim to dedicate about 1,000 hospitals and small clinics to treat COVID-19 by early February.
Facilities will be required to reserve separate spaces or treatment hours for people suspected of having COVID-19, while doctors will run or arrange tests, prescribe Pfizer’s Paxlovid antiviral pills and monitor patients at home by phone.
Omicron has become the dominant variant of the coronavirus globally, easily infecting those who have been vaccinated or previously had COVID-19. But vaccination and the booster shot still offer powerful protection against serious illness, hospitalization, and death.
More than 85% of South Korea’s 51 million people have been fully vaccinated and more than half the population has received booster doses.
However, there are still concerns that a sudden explosion of infection could overwhelm hospitals and cause disruption to workplaces and essential services by constantly placing huge numbers of people under quarantine.
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