Samsung to again offer 2 facilities as virus treatment centers

SEOUL, Aug. 26 (Yonhap) -- Samsung Group, South Korea's top conglomerate, said Wednesday it will offer its training institutes to be used as treatment centers for novel coronavirus patients in the greater Seoul area in a move to support local health authorities in securing more hospital beds.

Samsung Fire & Marine Life Insurance Co.'s training center in Goyang, north of Seoul, and Samsung C&T Corp.'s research institute in Yongin, south of Seoul, will serve as residential treatment centers for COVID-19, according to the group.

The facility of Samsung Fire & Marine Life Insurance has 180 rooms and will accommodate virus patients with light symptoms starting Monday. Medical staff from Samsung's hospitals will be also sent there to support COVID-19 treatment.

Samsung C&T's research institute has 110 rooms and will be opened to virus patients next week.

This is the second time that Samsung has offered its facilities as virus treatment centers.

In March, the group provided human resource training institutes in North Gyeongsang Province and North Jeolla Province for residential treatment centers following a massive virus outbreak in Daegu.

South Korea is facing another wave of coronavirus infections after a whopping 3,395 new cases have been reported across the nation over the past 13 days, with most of them tied to churches in the greater Seoul area, home to half of the country's population.

According to health authorities, more than 75 percent of hospital beds reserved for COVID-19 treatment in the nation's capital area have been occupied as of Wednesday.

kdon@yna.co.kr
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