땀 범벅, 마스크 자국,..코로나 최전선 '경북' 의료진이 말하는 현 상황 Tired and understaffed, healthcare professionals and medical personnel in Daegu and Gyeongsangbuk-do Province have been battling the virus for over a month now.
To learn what it's been like on the front lines, our Lee Kyung-eun spoke with one of them at a triage center in the city of Andong.
This triage center in Andong, Gyeongsangbuk-do Province is just an hour's drive from Daegu, the city hardest hit by the COVID-19 outbreak.
Since February, doctor Kim Jee-hwan has been working at the center, fully kitted out in protective gear.
"We have to wear this level B uniform. I am currently using two suits per day, one before lunch and one after lunch and I always get marks from facial masks, and yes, we get sweaty and we smell pretty bad in these uniforms."
Working from 8 AM to 10 PM, Kim receives roughly 1-hundred visitors a day.
He's seen a drastic surge in patients in recent days, with most of them linked to the religious group Shincheonji -- which is connected to many cases in Daegu and the surrounding area.
"The numbers change every day but last time I checked, it was about 69 percent. More than 80 percent of the visitors came today were sent for lab testing today. The percentage is high because we are testing every single member of the religious group in the city."
But Kim's role goes beyond testing itself, as the medical staff also treat the emotional pain of the citizens.
"People are scared and those with symptoms and fever they are afraid that this might affect their family and their work, so we are trying to calm them down..."
In the midst of rising patient numbers, Kim, who is from Daegu, is worried about the situation in the city and what his family and friends are currently going through.
"Medical staffs in Daegu are getting what four hours of sleep every night....medical staffs getting infected by the coronavirus...I heard that about 50 doctors and 200 nurses are needed."
Despite the crisis, Kim and the community are staying strong.
"Medical staffs and public officers, we are trying ourselves to fight against this disease and people are staying strong and hopefully we would be able to overcome this,...hopefully maybe this month or before the summer comes."
Lee Kyung-eun, Arirang News.
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