Featured

S. Korea to expand outpatient treatment centers in a bid to treat COVID-19 as a regular flu



Published
수요일 코로나 신규확진 286,294명...중대본 "대면진료 확대…요양시설엔 '찾아가는 진료' 시행"

Right... Soa... thank you... for the tallies.
Authorities... here... have been... taking... SUBTLE... but... STEADY... STEPS... into a new normal... OVER TIME... AS... they seek... to usher in... an endemic phase... of COVID-19.
For more... Shin YE-EUN joins me... now.
YE-EUN... good... to have you... back.

Thanks for having me Sunny.

Let's begin... then... with... the efforts... that have been made... thus far... to manage... COVID-19... more... like... the common flu.

From last November,... most people infected with COVID-19 have been asked to recover from home.
And recently,... authorities have allowed anyone to receive in-person treatment for COVID... at local hospitals if they want to.
Now, they're looking to expand the number of hospitals that provide medical services for COVID patients.
Currently,... there are some 4-thousand 8-hundred outpatient treatment centers in the country.
Take a listen to what the Minister of Interior and Safety had to say.

"We'll continue expanding the number of outpatient treatment centers for COVID-19 at local hospitals and clinics providing in-person treatment. We will also kick off outreach treatment programs where medical staff visit high-risk facilities like nursing homes themselves."

Authorities could also shut down residential treatment centers,... which had been set up in the early days of the pandemic... to treat COVID-19 patients with mild symptoms.
With home treatment now becoming the norm... except for those without shelter,... residential treatment centers are being little used.
As of now,... only 19 percent of all beds at residential treatment center are occupied,... and health authorities believe medical resources allocated here... could be better used elsewhere.

AND... for COVID-19 patients... at home... I hear... they can now... venture... outdoors... to pick up... their medication?

That's right.
Authorities on Wednesday... have decided to allow those infected with COVID-19 and recovering from home... to PICK UP their own medication at pharmacies.
This... as many home recovery patients have found it inconvenient... to have an UNINFECTED family member or friend... go and get it for them.
This was especially problematic for those living alone... without anyone to visit a pharmacy on their behalf.
Health authorities have provided new guidelines for home recovery patients... to make a run to the pharmacy... without putting others in danger.

"We ask those infected to stand outside the pharmacy and stand 1 meter apart from each other when waiting for their medication. We will also create storage areas where people can pick up their medication with minimum contact. We kindly ask everyone to refrain from talking to others and for pharmacies to abide by all prevention measures."

The government has promised incentives... to pharmacies that provide in-person prescription to those infected.
What these incentives are - we don't know yet.

On the treatment front... as Soa mentioned on Tuesday... we're expecting... anti-viral pills... to be available... to MORE patients?

That's right.
Now that the government has secured ENOUGH supplies of oral treatments,... they are making these anti-viral pills more accessible.
Some 420-thousand courses are AVAILABLE for use this month.
From today,... residents at nursing homes and mental health centers... where many infections have occurred recently... can receive anti-viral pills from public health centers.
Authorities have supplied public health centers NATIONWIDE... with enough antiviral pills to immediately supply other medical facilities and nursing centers in need.
Each public health center will receive antiviral pills from Paxlovid... that's enough to treat 100 people... and from Lagevrio,... enough to treat 24 people.
These centers can also request more supplies if needed.

All right YE-EUN... thank you for now.

#COVID19 #treatment #infection

Category
Health
Be the first to comment