Increase 110 Dedicated Beds for Severe COVID-19 Patients... Secure 496 Beds by First Half of Next Year (Update)

COVID-19 Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters Regular Briefing
40% of Metropolitan Cluster Outbreaks Are Aged 60+... Severe and Critical Cases Reach Record High of 124

Medical staff are practicing patient treatment simulation in the COVID-19 patient ward set up at Seoul St. Mary's Hospital. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] As the number of severe COVID-19 patients rapidly increases, the government has decided to secure an additional 110 beds dedicated to treating these patients within this month. The government plans to incentivize hospitals operating these beds through compensation and also work on securing medical personnel.

Kim Kang-lip, the first chief coordinator of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, announced this bed expansion plan during a briefing on the 2nd, stating, "The number of severe and critical patients continues to rise to 124, with 40 critically ill patients requiring intensive care." Particularly, in recent large-scale cluster outbreaks in metropolitan area churches and downtown rallies, patients aged 60 and above account for over 40% of the total group, highlighting the need for more intensive care beds for elderly patients.

Accordingly, the government has decided to designate 'hospitals dedicated to treating severe patients.' Until now, bed capacity was assessed regardless of disease type based on the ability to accommodate severe patients, but since equipment, facilities, and personnel differ for COVID-19 treatment, separate management is deemed necessary. Coordinator Kim said, "We will designate existing severe patient beds, which could also admit general patients, as beds exclusively for severe COVID-19 patients in dedicated treatment hospitals," adding, "We will actively compensate designated dedicated hospitals for losses and provide sufficient incentives to expand capacity."

In addition, the government will cooperate with the Ministry of National Defense to support military medical personnel responsible for treating severe patients. According to the Ministry of National Defense, from the 4th, military doctors will be urgently deployed to nine private medical facilities in the metropolitan area. The first confirmed dispatch includes about 20 personnel. Yoon Tae-ho, head of the Central Accident Response Headquarters' quarantine team, said regarding plans for additional military doctor deployment, "We will continue to prepare support measures if local governments or hospitals request additional personnel based on the situation."

Plans are also underway to train dedicated nurses capable of treating severe patients. To this end, 11 educational institutions have selected about 250 trainees, and training will be conducted from this month through the end of the year. Medical equipment such as mobile negative pressure devices that enable isolation in general wards, ventilators, and ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) will be immediately provided to ensure no disruption in treatment.

Furthermore, by the end of the year, 'infectious disease base dedicated hospitals' will be designated by region to oversee patient classification and bed allocation in the event of large-scale outbreaks within those regions. Additionally, a total of 105.4 billion KRW will be provided to 23 medical institutions to secure 110 beds by this month and an additional 103 beds by the end of the year, aiming to expand a total of 496 beds for severe patient treatment by the first half of next year.

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