Medical centers will remain open during Chuseok holiday
The Ministry of Health and Welfare said on Friday that 535 emergency medical centers will remain open day and night throughout the Chuseok holiday season, which begins Wednesday and lasts through the weekend.In addition to emergency medical centers, an average of 542 national and public hospitals and clinics, some 3,900 private clinics and about 6,300 over-the-counter pharmacies will remain open throughout the holiday and long weekend.
The names and locations of these medical centers and drugstores are available by calling 119, where speakers of many languages, including Korean, English, Chinese, Japanese, French, Spanish, German, Russian, Arabic, Thai, Malay, Vietnamese, Turkish and Hindi can receive immediate assistance, including an ambulance dispatch, during the holiday season.
Korean speakers can also download a mobile app created by the ministry and the National Emergency Medical Center where users can search nearby medical centers that are open. The app also provides videos of first-aid and emergency response techniques like CPR.
“Some 98,000 people found emergency medical centers during the Chuseok holiday season last year, with an average of 25,000 finding them each day,” the ministry said in its press release on Friday. “Compared to the number of patients on any other day, there were 2.4 times more people in need of emergency medical help during the holiday.”
It added, “Especially be careful with fire, for accidents concerned with burns jump 2.8 times during Chuseok.”
The ministry also cautioned drivers on the road.
BY ESTHER CHUNG [chung.juhee@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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