The government said it would implement a fast-track treatment system, providing diagnosis, treatment, and prescription in one day, from June.
Its top quarantine official said Friday that the fast track system aims to protect against Covid-19 and minimize the risk of death by enabling high-risk groups to receive tests, treatment, prescriptions for oral treatment, and hospitalization within one day.
“High-risk people for Covid-19, including those 60 and older, who have weakened immune systems, and live in facilities vulnerable to infection, will receive the test, treatment, and prescription in a single day,” Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said during a daily task force meeting. “These high-risk groups will be able to receive treatment at a dedicated hospital without delay if necessary.”
Under the new system, high-risk people can visit a local medical institution, such as a respiratory clinic or a designated medical institution for respiratory treatment, and receive a rapid antigen test from professionals and a prescription for the treatment immediately if they test positive, according to health officials.
The government will also provide PCR testing at screening clinics, such as public health centers. If the patients test positive, officials will classify them as intensive care groups subject to daily monitoring.
Suppose symptoms develop while quarantined at home after a positive test. Then, patients can receive oral treatment through a face-to-face treatment at an outpatient clinic or non-face-to-face treatment, including telephone counseling.
The government will hospitalize patients with aggravating symptoms despite taking Covid-19 pills.
To fully transition to the fast track system, the government will extend its operation of the medical mobility task force, initially set to end this month, to Aug. 31.
“The key is to shorten all measures so that patients can receive prescription within a day,” said Son Young-rae, head of the social strategy division of the Central Accident Resolving Headquarters of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “Therefore, the government is integrating the medical systems classified into diagnosis and prescription into a single system as much as possible.”
In nursing hospitals and facilities, authorities match personnel with diagnostic and prescription rights and procedures to simplify all related procedures, Son added.
According to KDCA, the agency prescribed two Covid-19 pills – Paxlovid and Molnupiravir – to 3,974 people in the past week.
The cumulative use of Paxlovid has increased to 253,569 people, with the stock remaining for 473,234 people as of 6:30 p.m. Thursday,
On Friday, Korea reported fewer than 20,000 Covid-19 cases for the second consecutive day, marking the lowest level in 17 weeks.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency confirmed 16,584 new virus cases, raising the cumulative caseload to 18,053,287.
The death toll came to 24,103, up 40 from the previous day, with a fatality rate of 0.13 percent. However, critically ill patients decreased from 243 to 207, according to the KDCA.
“Cases have been declining for the second month,” Prime Minister Han said. “However, we can seldom let down our guard yet, but need to prepare for new variants.”
The government will thoroughly prepare the quarantine and medical response system so that people can keep their daily lives even if the crisis returns, Han added.
Prime Minister Han also stressed that the government would build a big data platform to use Korea's experience in the fight against Covid-19 effectively.
“By systematically linking and integrating information scattered across various institutions, we will lay the foundation for scientific evidence-based quarantine,” Han said. “To respond professionally and stably to infectious diseases such as Covid-19, we will also speed up the construction of a central hospital specializing in infectious diseases, which will act as a control tower for on-site medical response.”
According to KDCA, about 44.57 million people have been fully vaccinated, or 86.9 percent of the 52-million population. In addition, about 33.28 million people had received their first booster shots, representing 64.9 percent, and 3.97 million people had their second booster shots.