Gov. Lee Jae-myung Visits COVID-19 Quarantine Facility as First Action of Second Half of Seventh Elected Term

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Park No-hun] Gov. Lee Jae-myung of Gyeonggi Province, entering his third year in office, visited Anseong Hospital of Gyeonggi Province Medical Center, a designated COVID-19 hub hospital, as his first official schedule of the second half of his seventh elected term, to encourage the medical staff.

On July 1st, the governor visited Anseong Hospital and inspected the isolation beds for severe patient treatment, listened to the concerns of medical staff, and expressed his gratitude for their dedicated work. The visit was attended by Lim Seung-gwan, co-chair of the Gyeonggi Province COVID-19 Emergency Task Force, Jung Il-yong, director of Gyeonggi Province Medical Center (concurrently serving as director of Suwon Hospital), Lee Kyung-jun, director of Anseong Hospital, and medical staff members.

Gov. Lee stated, "Since COVID-19 requires prolonged companionship or coexistence, different measures are needed, and I am grateful that Anseong Hospital has created an efficient system through new methodology. The world has praised the Republic of Korea's K-quarantine response to a COVID-19 pandemic that the world could not handle, and it is all thanks to you medical professionals on the front lines."
He continued, "We must make systematic preparations for infectious diseases that will inevitably recur countless times in the future. I urge you to make greater efforts with the pride and responsibility of protecting the lives and safety of our residents."

Director Lim Seung-gwan emphasized the importance of securing severe patient beds, stating, "Since May, confirmed cases have been predominantly among middle-aged and elderly populations, requiring many situations where we must convert to severe patient beds."

Anseong Hospital was the first medical institution nationwide, other than state-designated quarantine hospitals, to begin admitting COVID-19 confirmed patients for treatment. It is the only local medical center equipped with negative-pressure facilities to operate an indoor screening clinic.
In particular, Anseong Hospital is currently pursuing a severe patient care strengthening project. It is a public-private collaboration project where the public sector provides facilities and equipment while the private sector provides specialized personnel to operate severe patient treatment facilities. The province invested 500 million won for a 15-bed scale, reinforcing medical equipment such as ventilators and facilities including negative-pressure screened doors.

Meanwhile, on June 11th, Gov. Lee Jae-myung granted two days of special leave to approximately 1,600 employees of six hospitals under Gyeonggi Province Medical Center who have been engaged in quarantine work due to COVID-19, saying "On behalf of 1.37 million residents, we sincerely thank the Gyeonggi Province Medical Center family members striving on the front lines." The special leave can be used in a distributed manner until the end of the year depending on staffing circumstances at each hospital.