96% of Koreans oppose allowing them in care centers



By Jung Min-ho



More than 96 percent of Koreans said they are against the government's decision to allow AIDS patients to stay at care centers, a survey showed on Friday.



The survey, conducted by the Korean Association of Geriatric Hospitals, shows that 96.2 percent of 5,627 participants said that the Ministry of Health and Welfare should rescind its decision to allow AIDS patients to receive healthcare in any care center they want.



As an alternative, 94.8 percent of them say the ministry should establish a care system only for AIDS patients, an idea the ministry has rejected.



The survey results bode ill for AIDS patients, who have long been struggling to find places to receive proper treatment in the country.



In December, the ministry changed its enforcement regulations, forcing the nation's care centers to accept AIDS patients. But the move has had little benefit for them.



Without any specific legal penalties, observers say it will be difficult to realistically change the behavior of facilities that continue to refuse AIDS patients.



Many facility owners are concerned about possibly losing their own patients by allowing AIDS patients in.



However, the ministry believes health concerns over AIDS transmission are overblown and inaccurate information is used to violate the human rights of AIDS patients.



According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDCP), the virus is spread, especially here, primarily by unprotected sex and is not transmitted by other bodily fluids such as saliva and tears.



There is no cure for the disease, but today antiretroviral treatments can slow the course of the disease and may lead patients to a near-normal life expectancy.



As more AIDS patients grow older, their calls for the right to use care centers are expected to increase. As of 2014, the average age of AIDS patients in Korea was 46 and 12 percent of them were older than 60.



According to the KCDCP, Korea had 11,504 registered AIDS patients as of 2014.



