Will Hospital Bed Shortage Become a Reality for COVID-19 Patients in Gyeonggi-do?

Among 91 confirmed cases on the 25th, 84 (92.3%) are 'Home Isolation'

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] 'Home isolation' due to a shortage of hospital beds for COVID-19 patients in Gyeonggi Province is becoming a reality. Home isolation refers to cases where individuals test positive but cannot be assigned to a hospital due to a lack of beds and must wait at home for a certain period.

In response to this situation, Gyeonggi Province decided to officially launch the 'Home Care System Operation Team' to manage COVID-19 patients in home isolation starting from the 27th.

Earlier, the province announced that on the 25th, a total of 91 new COVID-19 cases were confirmed in one day, but 84 of them, accounting for 92.3%, were in a 'bed assignment waiting' status, unable to be assigned to hospitals or residential treatment centers.

As of midnight on that day, 551 out of 570 COVID-19 treatment beds in the province were in use, resulting in a bed occupancy rate of 96.6%. Gyeonggi Province explained that they have been barely managing by operating a joint allocation system for the metropolitan area since the 22nd.

The occupancy rate of two residential treatment centers that accommodate mild patients is 46.7%, so there is still some capacity. However, due to operational management and staffing conditions, it is not possible to accommodate a large number of mild patients at once.

Earlier, on the 20th, Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung expressed concern through an 'Urgent Appeal to the Public,' stating, "Gyeonggi Province treats severe cases in intensive care units of advanced medical institutions according to symptoms and risk factors, moderate cases in general isolation wards of public hospitals, and asymptomatic and mild cases in residential treatment centers. However, if residential treatment centers cannot handle the cases, unavoidable home isolation may occur."

He added, "Realistically, if the number of patients surges, it is impossible to infinitely expand hospitals or residential treatment centers, so introducing a management method for treatment at home is inevitable. We will make continuous efforts to prevent home isolation cases, but we will also preemptively check to ensure safe management."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.