The government on Friday announced a range of planned measures to better prepare for subsequent waves of the coronavirus and future outbreaks of other infectious diseases, including introducing penalties for certain hospitals that don't comply with requests to secure enough beds.
The government also plans to revise the existing quarantine law to mandate that people suspected of having COVID-19 isolate at home and report their conditions to health authorities. Penalties would be levied on those who don’t comply.
In addition, the government plans to make it possible for more medical workers to give vaccines. Currently, only doctors and nurses can give vaccines, which caused bottlenecks in the initial rollout of shots last year. The government plans to allow dentists, paramedics and radiologists, among other medical professionals, to give shots under the new measures.