UPDATE : Monday, September 7, 2020
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SNUBH’s infection control seals off COVID-19
  • By Choi Gwang-seok
  • Published 2020.03.10 15:32
  • Updated 2020.03.10 15:32
  • comments 0

The Seoul National University Bundang Hospital (SNUBH) said its infection control efforts have completely prevented the spread of the new coronavirus.

The successful infection control came after an employee at the SNUBH’s Pain Clinic for outpatient service tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday. The hospital immediately quarantined the employee at the state-designated treatment room, shut down, and sanitized the outpatient room at the pain clinic.

Visitors to the Seoul National University Bundang Hospital fill out medical questionnaires and get their body temperatures checked at the entrance of the hospital. (Credit: SNUBH)

To prevent further transmissions, the hospital and the health authorities sorted out people who contacted the confirmed patient and collected their specimens for COVID-19 tests. The test results showed that all 60 people who contacted the employee tested negative for the virus. The results meant that the hospital was able to prevent a further spread completely.

The hospital attributed the successful result to obligating everyone within the hospital to wear face masks, and actively following the infectious disease prevention protocols such as washing hands frequently and thoroughly.

SNUBH started checking body temperatures for all visitors from Jan. 29 when the COVID-19 outbreak began to occur across the nation. From Feb. 27, the hospital asked all visitors to fill out medical questionnaires at the entrance, monitored their body temperatures, and restricted the entry of employees and outsiders who have been overseas or in Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province, recently.

On March 1, the government designated the hospital as a “public safety hospital,” an institution that separates the treatment process of respiratory patients to prevent COVID-19 spread with the facility.

“For preventive measures, the hospital has suspended the outpatient service at the Pain Clinic and the Family Medicine Department temporarily. Excluding those, the hospital’s operation, including patient care, medical examination, surgery and hospitalization, is in a normal state,” SNUBH President Baek Rong-min said.

The hospital has been carrying out training to isolate patients quickly, in preparation to respond to new infectious diseases and acute pandemic through a systematic infection control system.

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