Health ministry steps up heat-wave protections for vulnerable groups

The health ministry said Sunday it ordered stronger heat-wave protections for vulnerable people after the central heat-wave disaster response was raised to Level 2, requesting local governments and related groups to conduct field inspections.

The heat-wave alert system was reorganized into a three-tier system of advisories, warnings and critical heat-wave warnings on June 1.

In areas subject to heat-wave alerts, care workers at 682 service institutions, including senior welfare centers, must make daily calls or visits to high-risk older people, particularly those with limited mobility or working in rural areas. Under a critical heat-wave warning, the checks rise to twice daily.

People with dementia registered at dementia care centers and their families will receive heat-wave safety guidance through KakaoTalk when the highest warning is issued. About 7,000 especially vulnerable people will receive daily welfare checks.

Outdoor work in senior employment programs will halt under a critical heat-wave warning, with participants sent home or moved to air-conditioned indoor work and their health checked immediately. Support centers for homeless people and counseling offices serving residents of small-room housing will use day and night patrols to check on residents and monitor air conditioning at 217 emergency shelters.

Each township, town and neighborhood must designate at least one senior-center cooling shelter as a hub, open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekends and public holidays through September.

"Summer disasters reach everyone, but the danger reaches vulnerable people earlier and with greater force," Health Minister Jeong Eun-kyeong said.

Jeong will visit Asan in South Chungcheong province on Monday, where heat-wave alerts cover the entire province, to inspect local measures. She plans to visit a drone monitoring site in a heat-vulnerable area and a senior-center cooling shelter.