readease Chapter 582 - 263: Super Patient
Chapter 582 - 263: Super Patient
"The government’s sluggish control resulted in Seoul losing the best opportunity to cut off the virus spread in its early stages. According to the current data model projections, I believe it won’t take long for South Korea to surpass Europe and become the country with the most MERS infections after Saudi Arabia. A national disaster like the ’Sewol’ ferry disaster will replay again."
"Hey! Kid, mind your words in front of Mr. Li!"
Mr. Zhang suddenly slammed the table.
Even Zheng Yinseng turned his head to the side and snorted. After all, Gu Ji’s words were akin to slapping them both in the face, accusing them of poor management.
"Mr. Li, Mr. Jin has been busy lately and misspoke. Please don’t take it to heart."
Jiang Youzhen smiled lightly, then raised her teacup and attempted to ease the tension.
"It’s fine." Li Xianzhen put down the documents and looked seriously at Gu Ji.
"Since you want to disclose information and implement emergency control, how can you ensure that the public won’t complain during isolation and PCR testing, and how do you guarantee that hospitals won’t hide patient information for their own gain? Most importantly, once this information is made public, it will certainly cause panic and lead to panic buying of food, especially medical protective items."
"It’s very simple, through economic subsidies."
Gu Ji suggested that Cheongwadae could issue some regulations.
Subsidies could be given to MERS patients and those in close contact under isolation on the premise of severely impacting their income, and patients actively lining up for PCR testing could receive masks with special slogans printed on them.
Then find one or two influencers to take photos wearing the masks and post them on platforms like Twitter and Instagram, which would naturally create a "herd leader effect."
Most of the public, especially young people, would likely follow suit and line up.
The issue of hiding information can be solved more easily with punitive measures along with rewards.
Establish a strict reporting system.
If medical staff do not report in time, or suspected close contacts refuse to undergo checks or isolation, they could be fined or even face criminal responsibility.
"The issue of medical supplies is even simpler. AM Medical expedited the setup of a factory a week ago, specifically to produce masks, protective suits, and other medical protective items."
"What!?"
Mr. Zhang’s face showed shock.
As someone with an economic background, he knew very well how medical supplies would be scrambled for once Cheongwadae decided to implement emergency response controls. Wouldn’t AM Medical make a huge profit then?
Li Xuanzhen also seemed a bit incredulous.
"Is this true?"
"It’s true. Mr. Li, we at AM Medical acquired and restructured a non-woven fabric factory in the suburbs of Seoul. Currently, three production lines are running at full speed, with a daily capacity of nearly 420,000 units."
When Jiang Youzhen said this, she couldn’t help feeling her heart race.
She initially agreed to "Jin Zhijiu’s" suggestion under pressure, as his abilities were indeed outstanding, and being a prosecutor, he could jointly deal with Shansang. Cooperation seemed possible.
But unexpectedly, now it turned out to be the right gamble.
Most crucially.
A week ago, the MERS virus had not yet officially broken out.
How did "Jin Zhijiu" foresee the current situation and invest heavily in a factory ahead of time, could he be a prophet?
"Mr. Jin is young and promising, staying in the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office is a bit of a waste of your talents."
Li Xianzhen said with a half-smile, then stood up, "I’ll report tonight’s meeting to the President. Wait for my news, everyone."
"Take care, Mr. Li."
"Since Mr. Jin said the situation is serious, I must hurry back to formulate corresponding countermeasures. I’ll leave first, everyone."
Zheng Yinseng’s tone was noticeably displeased.
Finally, only Mr. Zhang was left in the room.
He squinted his eyes, a glint of greed flashing in his pupils. But with Gu Ji present, he only pretended to cough.
Jiang Youzhen, who joined the group after graduation, naturally saw through Mr. Zhang’s little intentions, so she privately went to send him off.
A moment later, she returned to the private room.
Gu Ji drank the water from his teacup in one gulp.
"That councilman wouldn’t want a share of the profits, would he?"
"Mr. Zhang’s constituency is in the Seoul Central District, and he used to lean towards Shansang. The fact that he can lean towards us this time is actually an opportunity."
Jiang Youzhen seemed to say nothing but actually said it all.
It’s quite laughable upon reflection.
A congressman openly demanded bribes in front of a prosecutor, even amidst such a severe crisis, thinking about making profit from national disaster.
If it weren’t for Gu Ji finding AM Medical, this conglomerate, in advance this time.
It would still probably be like last week, with nothing affected.
As the Secretary of Cheongwadae, Li Xianzhen was indeed very quick to take action.
The night the meeting ended, Cheongwadae ordered South Korean health authorities to conduct thorough personnel investigations at the two hospitals most involved in the MERS infection incident.
It precisely referred to Pingze Mary Hospital and Seoul Shansang Hospital.
Unfortunately, the hospital names were still not made public.
It wasn’t until June 6 that the MERS investigation team reported an increase of 22 confirmed cases with the virus spreading faster than expected, and the social public opinion in South Korea was in an uproar. Not only were there mass petitions, but some people even openly displayed banners in front of government buildings.
Realizing the seriousness of the situation, Cheongwadae finally had to publish a list including 24 hospitals on June 7.
[Objective: Limit the virus-infected regions to 7 or fewer (including 7) accomplished!]
[Choose your reward!]
[Infectious Disease Data Monitoring] or [Combat Specialization (Major)]
Dangerous yet accomplished.
At the moment the list was made public, the game task was completed.
Yellow [Infectious Disease Data Monitoring]: Simulates real-time real data of the 2015 global MERS infection incident through big data information flow, marking the infection directions;
Yellow [Combat Specialization (Major)]: Improves combat level by 43%, reduces time to find defensive flaws by 41%, increases the perfect state attack chance by 36%, shortens combat reaction time by 27%.
The second option had almost nothing to do with the current stage.
Gu Ji didn’t know how the system refreshed it. With his current combat ability, as long as he doesn’t get infected with MERS and carries no negative buffs, he could handle the Mountain Dog Gang thugs, including professional assassins.
After all, he also has backup in the form of [Poison Needle Trap] landmines and drone missile support that he hasn’t used yet.
A yellow light descended.
In Gu Ji’s field of vision, a semi-transparent gray status bar appeared.
From left to right, it displayed [Infection Rate], [Mortality Rate], [Public Rebellion], and upon clicking the triangle at the end of the status bar, a world map unfolded.
It showed red biohazard symbols in Slovakia, Xia Kingdom, and South Korea, with the most red dots in Seoul, South Korea, and Gyeonggi Province.
Well, it’s very much like "Virus Company."
With this, he could always grasp the infection trends, akin to carrying a MERS investigation team with him—no, even more powerful than them.
This way, he could use data to clearly and effectively handle key infection areas.
[You have completed two target tasks, and received Soldier’s Telescope Vision *1!]
[Ultimate Goal: Completely prevent the outbreak of a public health event in South Korea, and keep the confirmed death toll below 36!]
[Side Mission: Find all super patients!]
Gu Ji had anticipated the ultimate mission long ago.
Only the side mission of this stage was unclear to him.
Based on past experience, side missions are always linked to the final hidden mission. He initially thought the stage called "The Battle Beneath the Walls" would have him investigate issues like government, conglomerate inaction, and corruption in handling the MERS incident in South Korea.
Unexpectedly, it was purely about investigating patients.
So-called "super patients," depending on each country’s handling and understanding of illness, have varying detailed data. The World Health Organization proposed that a patient who infects more than ten others is a "super patient," also called a super spreader.
According to the Korean CDC, based on national circumstances and MERS infection rate, it is defined as:
A MERS patient who transmits the virus to at least four other patients is a "super patient."
It’s essential to understand, the situation regarding MERS treatment in the Middle East indicates that each MERS patient transmits to 0.7 people on average, whereas the "super patients" in South Korea transmitted to at least 4, and the most to 85!
No exaggeration.
In the 2015 South Korean MERS incident, about 83% of patients were infected by these five "super patients"!