정부, 코로나19 재유행 대비 '호흡기 전담 클리닉' 1천개 지정 운영...4일 국내 발생 이틀만에 0명

South Korea reported zero domestic cases of the novel coronavirus today.
As the country sees the COVID-19 outbreak settle down for now, it's gearing up for another possible outbreak in the fall or the winter.
The health authorities announced today that it will designate and operate one-thousand respiratory clinics nationwide to help to reduce the potential spread of the virus and not overcrowd emergency departments.
Yoon Jung-min reports.
South Korea plans to run around one-thousand clinics nationwide that exclusively take care of patients with respiratory diseases,... to prevent a second wave of COVID-19 cases when the weather gets cold.
At Monday's COVID-19 briefing, the health authorities said it will set a new system to provide safe medical services for people with general respiratory diseases or fever,... as well as keep them separate from other patients.
"The medical field and the government have agreed upon the need to establish a new medical service system to brace for a possible secondary COVID-19 outbreak and an increasing number of people with respiratory diseases during the fall and winter."
The clinics will take care of patients with constant fever, coughing or sore throats.
The government said it will first secure 500 clinics at local public institutions or health centers,... and prepare 500 more at medical institutions.
The authorities also plan to provide medical services over the telephone.
To help suffering hospitals and pharmacies,... the government decided to pay their guaranteed national health insurance wage support for June one month in advance.
The advance amounts to some 815-million U.S. dollars.
As of Midnight on Monday, South Korea reported eight new COVID-19 cases,... which were all imported from abroad.
There have been two more fatalities,... bringing the total death toll to 252.
34 more people have recovered from the coronavirus on Monday,... and the recovery tally stands at 9-thousand-217.
Yoon Jung-min, Arirang News.