Korea: Classification of severity of infections to distribute attention to COVID-19 patients

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wwwnc.cdc.gov (17.09.2020) The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) classified the severity of COVID-19 into very severe, severe, mild, and asymptomatic (15) (Appendix Table 1). Mild COVID-19 is defined as alert and meeting >1 of the following conditions: <50 years old, >1 underlying conditions, and temperature <38°C with antipyretic drugs. Asymptomatic is defined as a patient who is alert, <50 years old, has no underlying disease, is a nonsmoker, and has a temperature of <37.5°C without antipyretic drugs. Patients classified as severe or very severe were admitted to hospitals; CTCs only accepted patients classified as having mild or asymptomatic COVID-19. Patients with mild COVID-19 met >1 of the following criteria for CTC admission: they did not necessarily require hospitalization; they only required monitoring; they were unable to properly self-isolate (for instance, they had no suitable place to live or lived with persons in a high-risk group); or, as determined by local government, they needed to be admitted to a CTC. Medical staff assessed patients and excluded persons at high-risk for deterioration from CTCs and recommended hospitalization.

measures summary

NHIS provides quarantine authorities with information regarding the possibility of underlying health conditions for patients infected with COVID-19 to enable efficient treatment. If COVID-19 is confirmed, patients are classified and treated based on severity of symptoms and presence of underlying diseases. At this time, patients are classified based on the underlying disease condition identified from NHIS Big Data. Based on the classification, patients with low risk/moderate symptoms are placed in the life care center whereby patients with high risk/severe symptoms are placed in the medical facility with negative pressure rooms so that treatment can be focused on patients who need urgent care.

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NHIS provides quarantine authorities with information regarding the possibility of underlying health conditions for patients infected with COVID-19 to enable efficient treatment. If COVID-19 is confirmed, patients are classified and treated based on severity of symptoms and presence of underlying diseases. At this time, patients are classified based on the underlying disease condition identified from NHIS Big Data. Based on the classification, patients with low risk/moderate symptoms are placed in the life care center whereby patients with high risk/severe symptoms are placed in the medical facility with negative pressure rooms so that treatment can be focused on patients who need urgent care.

See pdf from the NHIS sent to the ISSA.