#15,009
South Korea, which previously had been reporting twice a day (0900 hrs KST & 1600 hrs KST) announced they were going to a one-a-day update starting today, and so the latest increase reflects an accumulation of reports over 16 hours, not 24.
Nevertheless, the nation's total now sits at 4,212 confirmed cases ant 22 deaths, all but 31 of these cases having been reported in the last 12 days.The notes section of today's report alludes to a change to `minimization' (aka `mitigation') strategy for the epidemic. Unfortunately, the South Korean MOH website has been unresponsive for the past hour, and so I don't have any details yet.
□ The Central Defense Response Headquarters revised the “Coronavirus Infection-19 Response Guidelines” for the seventh time on March 2 with the recognition that the current defense response system should be transformed into an overall “minimization strategy”.
○ In case of confirmed patients, the severity classification team composed of medical staff (severity classification team) classifies the severity (step 4).
○ Patients who are in need of inpatient treatment but who need isolation for the purpose of blocking and monitoring radio waves will be provided with living and medical support by installing and operating regional “life treatment centers” using national or accommodation facilities.
○ Dedicated medical staff will be assigned within the home treatment center to monitor the health status of the patients in the facility at any time. If the medical staff determines that inpatient treatment is necessary, they will be admitted to the hospital promptly.
○ In addition, if symptoms improve even while being admitted to a medical institution, the patient will be discharged first, and the living treatment center or self-care measures will be taken at the discretion of the treating doctor and the patient management group.
○ The Life Treatment Center operates in the form of selecting a facility for each trial and establishing a medical support system with nearby medical institutions.
□ The National Defense Agency asked for compliance with the rules of personal hygiene and the practice of social distancing.
○ It is important to keep the basic precautions such as washing hands with soap under running water and covering your mouth and nose with clothing sleeves.
-Avoid contact with people with fever or respiratory symptoms. For this purpose, visits to places where many people gather in closed spaces or religious events should be avoided as much as possible.
○ Especially, people over 65 years old, chronic diseases, pregnant women, etc. should not visit places where many people gather, and inevitably visit a medical institution or wear a mask when going out.
○ People who have fever or respiratory symptoms should refrain from going to school without going to school or going to work.
-In addition, if the fever persists above 38 degrees or the symptoms become severe, ① call the call center (☎1339, ☎Area Code + 120) or the local public health center or ② visit the screening clinic * first.
