SEOUL, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's health authorities are ready to take emergency measures to combat A/H1N1 flu during the upcoming Chuseok holiday (Mid-Autumn festival), according to an official of the Ministry of Health on Monday.

    As one of the most important Korean traditional holidays, at least 10 million people are expected to travel across the country during the period, raising the risk of the A/H1N1 flu spread.

    The South Korean government decided to run an emergency medical system, so that the patient can receive proper treatment during the holiday from Oct. 2 to Oct. 4, said Choi Hee-joo, the director general of the Bureau of Health Policy at the Ministry of Health.

    According to the ministry, more than 1,100 medical institutions across the country, including 454 hospitals with emergency treatment facilities, 253 public health centers and 400 smaller branches of those centers, will be open for the three days.

    Meanwhile, the ministry will increase the designated pharmacies for provide antiviral medicine from 1,331 pharmacies to more than 2,000, and make it mandatory for at least 600 pharmacies to stay open during the holiday.

    The country reported its first new flu outbreak in early May. A total of 9,968 cases of the flu infections were confirmed across the nation as of Sept. 13, and 9 death cases have been reported so far.

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