WEATHER BECOMES RISK FACTOR TO HEALTH WORKERS

[Anchor Lead]

Daytime highs in Korea have soared above 30 degrees Celsius, and the weather has emerged as a new factor in COVID-19 testing. Three workers at a testing station in Incheon collapsed yesterday while testing students and were rushed to hospital.

[Pkg]

​Rescue workers move a patient on a stretcher into an ambulance. Other patients are also transported in ambulances. Three workers at a COVID-19 testing station collapsed while conducting tests. They had been working for four straight hours under the scorching sun.

[Soundbite] CHOI NAM-OK(MICHUHOL-GU DIST. PUBLIC HEALTH CENTER, INCHEON) : "They became dehydrated working in a playground in the hot sun."

The workers' would have felt much hotter because they were wearing hazmat suits.

[Soundbite] (OFFICIAL AT PROTECTIVE SUIT MANUFACTURING COMPANY) : "Protective suits have tiny holes for ventilation. The internal temperature is probably much higher than the outside temperature. If it was 28 degrees at the time, it would have been higher than body temperature."

The workers complained of severe dizziness and headache, and were rushed to a hospital. They were lucky to have been quickly discovered by their colleagues, or else they might have been in a life-threatening situation due to heat strokes.

[Soundbite] CHO JIN-SUNG(PROF., GACHON UNIVERSITY) : "Continued exposure to the sun depletes the body of fluids and electrolytes, which eventually leads to a heat stroke."

As well as COVID-19 testing amid the continuous spread of the virus, the safety of workers at test sites in the immense heat has emerged as another critical issue.