Introduction of COVID-19 "Food Treatment" in mid-January

Lee Ki-il, the first controller of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters, said on the 7th, "Pfizer's oral treatment will be introduced in Korea in mid-January as scheduled." The first controller, who held a regular briefing at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters, said, "As we signed an additional purchase contract with Pfizer Korea for 400,000 oral treatments on the 6th, a total of 1,04,000 people were signed." He added, "We will make it possible to administer oral treatments as quickly and safely as possible after the introduction of oral treatments," adding, "We are preparing detailed standards such as medication targets and supply target institutions, and will report them in detail. Meanwhile, first controller Lee said, "Following the decrease in the size of the epidemic, quarantine indicators such as critical patients are also improving overall," adding, "However, it is still not at a level of reassurance."

 

In response, he stressed, "In order to move back to daily recovery, it is necessary to further accelerate the current decline and further reduce the size of the epidemic and the number of critically ill patients." First controller Lee said, "In the case of Omicron, its propagation power is two to three times higher than that of delta mutations. It can be a big burden on infections in high-risk groups and the treatment system for critically ill patients." In response, the government is planning to strengthen the management of overseas entrants, streamline epidemiological investigations into groups with high risk of infection and transmission through selection and concentration, and introduce efficient and autonomous epidemiological investigations in a citizen-participating manner. In addition, diagnostic tests are prioritized, and PCR tests are expedited from citizens who are likely to be infected, and rapid antigen tests such as asymptomatic tests are considered to be universal and complementary.

 

In the meantime, in preparation for a large-scale occurrence of asymptomatic or mild confirmed cases, beds will be expanded and efficient medical response systems such as home treatment will be improved. In this regard, No. 1 controller Lee explained, "The government will collect opinions from experts in the field of quarantine and medical care and prepare a systematic strategy for the risk of Omicron as soon as possible based on scientific information." He then said, "We ask for your efforts to make daily recovery come again in preparation for the spread of Omicron," and added, "Please actively participate in the cooperation of vaccination and quarantine passes, the best means of personal health, safety of all our society."

 

Meanwhile, as of 0 o'clock on the 7th, COVID-19 treatment beds are operating stably, and the size of confirmed cases has also found some stability. First of all, a total of 1,754 beds are secured for intensive care, and the utilization rate is 53.0% nationwide, 55.3% in the metropolitan area, and 48.2% in the non-metropolitan area, and stable treatment is possible while maintaining the 50% operating rate from the 5th. In particular, a total of 6,916 beds were expanded, including 671 beds dedicated to intensive care, 1,371 beds for quasi-critical patients, and 4,874 beds dedicated to infectious diseases. In addition, the number of confirmed cases began to decrease from the 4th week of December last year and turned to a decline, but the average daily number of confirmed cases for the 1st week of November last year is still 1.9 times higher than the 1st week of last year. In response, the first controller Lee said, "There are still quite a few people who have not been vaccinated, including the third inoculation," and added, "Please hurry to participate in the inoculation, and refrain from going out to places where there." [Source] Korean policy briefing (www.Korea).kr) [Source] Korean policy briefing (www.Korea.kr)