A senior government official said that South Korea needs training in any possible outbreak of an infectious disease worse than “Covid-19” and detailed treatment guidelines amid the continuing risks of such an outbreak and the lack of general hospital beds available to treat patients. Disease control experts worldwide praised the early success of South Korea in containing the Coruna virus by closely monitoring and examining contacts, and described it as the gold standard in how to effectively contain infectious diseases.
Early state intervention curbed the spread of locally transmitted infections and helped hospitals provide beds for severely ill patients.
But the very low rate of general hospital beds, which does not exceed 10% of the total, remains a potential weakness, as the country continues to combat a few, but persistent, cases, while health workers suffer from stress after spending more than six months treating patients « Covid-19 ».
"I think we will see more similar outbreaks, whose transmission rate will be much faster, and they will be more deadly," National Health Insurance Service chief Dr. Kim Young-ik told Reuters. He added, "We need to be on the alert by conducting simulated experiments with multiple scenarios of the situation: how to transfer existing hospitals, where to send medical personnel, and how to classify patients." Kim indicated that more public hospitals and medical staff are needed to prevent cases from increasing as winter approaches.
South Korea has recorded 13,551 confirmed cases, and 289 deaths from the Coronavirus, which is significantly lower than most countries.
Worldwide disease control experts have described South Korea's success as a gold standard in how infectious diseases are effectively contained.