Credit South Korea CDC COVID Dashboard
#16,398
Just over a week ago South Korea broke 5,000 daily COVID cases for the first time (see South Korea Sets New Record For COVID Cases, Severe illnesses, and Deaths In One Day), representing a 20% increase over their previous high.
Today, that record has been shattered again, with a further 33% jump in cases.
Although the Omicron variant has been detected in South Korea (n=38), it likely still contributes very little to these numbers, as Delta remains dominant in most of the world.
Once the poster child for COVID control (see epi chart above), South Korea's numbers began to rise sharply this past summer, but really took off after South Korea announced their `Living with COVID' policy in early November, which marked the phased easing of many restrictions.
With hospitals filling up, and setting a new record today (840 serious or critical cases), the South Korean Ministry of Health is promoting increased home care for mild to moderate COVID cases. First today's (translated) announcement, then I'll return with a postscript.
Promotion of improvement of the COVID-19 medical response system (home treatment)
Registration Date: 2021-12-08 [Last Modified: 2021-12-08]
Contact Person : Kim Jong-deok
Department in charge: Coronavirus Infectious Disease-19 Central Accident Management Headquarters
Promotion of improvement of the COVID-19 medical response system (at-home treatment)
- Expansion of home treatment management infrastructure and expansion of transport system -- Reorganization of the 'Home Treatment Team' in the local government → 'Home Treatment Promotion Team (Deputy Head of the Responsible Person)', establishment of an infrastructure group, etc. Promotion of expansion of home treatment-related medical infrastructure -- 78.7% utilization rate of intensive care beds, 71.4% utilization rate of infectious disease hospitals -- Average of 5,279.0 confirmed cases during the week (Dec. 1,408.6 people (36.3%) increase -
Corona Virus Infectious Disease-19 Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (Director: Prime Minister Kim Bu-gyeom) today presided over by the head of the Gyeonggi Provincial Government video conference room together with each central ministry, 17 metropolitan governments, and 18 city and provincial police agencies ▲ Routine medical response system Home treatment improvement plan for settlement ▲The current status of COVID-19 and measures taken by major local governments were discussed.
1. Improvement of at-home treatment to establish a routine medical response system
The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters received a report from the Central Accident Management Headquarters of the Ministry of Health and Welfare (Director: Minister Kwon Deok-cheol) on ways to improve home treatment for the establishment of a daily medical response system and discussed it.
The Central Accident Management Headquarters plans to announce and promote improvement plans for the stable operation of home treatment after the transition from the principle of at-home treatment to the COVID-19 medical response system (November 26.).
Compared to other countries, Korea has a high hospitalization rate and a low proportion of home treatment, so there is a need for more activation.
- Reflecting the characteristics of COVID-19, which accounts for 80-90% of asymptomatic and mild patients, in most countries, inpatient treatment is minimized to focus on essential patients and home treatment is generalized.
- Although home treatment has been continuously expanded since the beginning of this year, about 50% of confirmed patients are receiving home treatment, 30% are receiving treatment at home treatment centers, and 20% are receiving inpatient treatment (average per week in December).
* Hospitalization rate (as of Jan. '21): around 20% in Korea, 2.78% in the UK, 6.95% in Singapore, 13.8% in Japan, 4.69% in Germany
The main improvement measures are as follows.
First, strengthen the local government's promotion system. The local government's promotion system was reorganized from the 'home treatment team' to the 'home treatment promotion team', and the deputy head of the local government oversees the promotion team to implement more systematic home treatment.
- In addition to the existing health management team and quarantine management team, an infrastructure group is newly established within the promotion group to expand infrastructure such as managed medical institutions and short-term and outpatient treatment centers.
- Meanwhile, each local government strengthens its response capacity by assigning administrative personnel other than public health centers to additional tasks for home treatment.
※ Confirmation of budget for recruitment of 2 nursing staff and temporary staff per health center in 2022
Second, expand the medical infrastructure. Reduce the health monitoring* period of medical institutions from the current 10 days to 7 days** to streamline health management. In this case, the monitoring period can be extended at the discretion of the medical practitioner.
* (Health monitoring) verify the health status of the subjects twice daily at-home treatment (once a day or more wired monitoring), in the case of centralized management group on the 1st three health monitoring conducted
** remaining three days self-isolation conduct
- Preemptively secure managed medical institutions* so that home treatment can be carried out without any setbacks, and plan to participate in clinic-level medical institutions with the Korean Medical Association and Seoul City Council.
* 216 locations (as of December 1st): 4 tertiary general hospitals, 120 general hospitals, 88 hospitals, 4 clinics
- To revitalize short-term and outpatient treatment centers that can provide necessary tests and face-to-face treatment in a safe space, the fee for each act* is recognized and installation costs (up to 250 million won) are supported.
* In addition to the existing home treatment patient management fee, the fee for each act is recognized (infection control fee, chest X-ray, blood test, etc.)
- Mental health evaluation is conducted periodically (two times, including start date and 5th day) through the health management app, and high-risk groups are linked with community mental health welfare centers to provide psychological counseling.
Third, expand the transport system. In case of emergency, the emergency response system will be strengthened by expanding the pre-designated transfer medical institutions and securing at least one hospital bed for emergency personnel at all times.
- The guidelines will be revised so that personal vehicles* or quarantine taxis can be used when moving to short-term or outpatient treatment centers in non-emergency situations.
* You must sit diagonally in a vehicle driven by a person who has completed vaccinations and drive with the window open.
Fourth, relieve the burden of family isolation. The management period of co-isolators will be shortened from the current 10 days to 7 days, and from the 8th day onwards, they will be managed at the level of 'living with self-quarantine' without quarantine.
<Change of management contents of co-quarantine during home treatment period>
In South Korea people are more inclined to go to hospitals for even minor illnesses, sometimes visit several hospitals for a single illness, and in many cases have family members stay with them to provide more personalized care. This is part of what contributed to the rapid spread of MERS-CoV through South Korea's hospitals in 2015.
Stay tuned.
