WOMAN DIES AT COVID-19 QUARANTINE CENTER

[Anchor Lead]

A woman in her 50s died in a quarantine center for COVID-19 patients with mild or no symptoms. She had a high fever and symptoms of pneumonia, but she passed away before she was transported to a hospital.

[Pkg]

A woman in her 50s was diagnosed with COVID-19 on August 1 and was sent to a quarantine center in Incheon. Three days later, she developed a high fever and took fever-reducing medicine. Her body temperature fell slightly, but an X-ray scan showed she had symptoms of pneumonia, which persisted for days. On August 8 she developed high fever again and was prescribed more medication. She was supposed to be transported to a hospital the following day. But she died eight days after being admitted to the quarantine center. Her family posted a petition on the Cheong Wa Dae website saying there was only one doctor taking care of hundreds of patients at the center, and the woman was not provided proper treatment because there was no proper medical equipment.

[Soundbite] Lim Ho-keun(Central Disaster Management HQs) : "Only doctors can say whether the decision to transfer the patient to a hospital was made at the right time or not. We should wait for the results of the Incheon City government’s investigation."

The government of Incheon City says it just followed the decision of doctors at a hospital that runs the quarantine center in question. It added that deploying more doctors at quarantine centers is not easy at this point. The recommended number of health workers for this center is 21-37, but only 16 have been dispatched there, including one doctor. Critics blame the shortage of health workers at COVID-19 quarantine centers for poor health care and the woman’s death. Health authorities are investigating the matter.