Seoul National University Hospital (SNUH) said Thursday that it opened a large-scale community treatment center in Seongnam, south of Seoul, amid the ongoing resurge of Covid-19 patients.

It is the second community treatment center the university hospital opened in the Seoul metro region in just five days. SNUH opened the first one in Nowon-gu, northeastern Seoul, on Saturday.

Seoul National University Hospital (SNUH) opened a community treatment center in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, and began to receive mild and asymptomatic Covid-19 patients on Thursday. (SNUH)

“Actually, it took only two days to open the new treatment center with 100 patient rooms and 200 sickbeds by making the most of our past experiences,” a hospital official said. “Some workers had to stay up for two nights in a row.”

SNUH has dispatched 20 doctors and 30 nurses, pharmacists, radiologists and administrative officials to the new treatment center. It began to receive patients Thursday, focusing mainly on mild or symptomless cases.

Patients coming into the center will put on wearable equipment and measure electrocardiogram, blood pressure, oxygen saturation, and heart and respiratory rate.

The treatment center shares vital sign data with the SNUH's information system in real-time. The system allows medical staff to easily and accurately monitor Covid-19 patient's condition in real-time through a mobile application.

"It was difficult to make an infection control plan and build facility and system by separating passages, assigning people, and securing medical devices, in a short time but all the staff worked as one," Professor Son Joung-sik said.

Professor Sohn, also chief of the hospital’s Medical Support Corps, added that SNUH would do its best to prevent gaps in providing medical service in the Seoul metro region caused by the spread of Covid-19.

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