COVID-19 Elderly Patients Surge... Government Says "ICU Bed Capacity Available but Additional Securing Underway" (Comprehensive)

Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters Regular Briefing
55 Patients Aged 60 and Over per Day... Doubled from the 20s Earlier This Month

On the 18th, when the number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection reached 313, entering the 300s for the first time since the end of August, citizens visiting the National Medical Center in Jung-gu, Seoul, were waiting to get tested. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] As the number of COVID-19 patients aged 60 and over rapidly increases, concerns about casualties are growing. Although the recent outbreak has been spreading mainly among younger people, the overall scale of cases has expanded, leading to a sharp rise in elderly patients. Since COVID-19 is known to be much more dangerous for the elderly, there are calls to expand intensive care unit (ICU) beds and ensure timely treatment.

According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters on the 18th, 385 patients aged 60 and above were recorded in the past week (November 12?18). This averages to 55 patients per day, more than double the early November figure of the low to mid-20s. As the number of elderly patients increases, so does the number of critically ill patients. The number of critically ill patients steadily rose from 54 on the 14th to 67 as of this date. Even excluding those who have already died, the upward trend is rapid. Considering the time lag between new confirmed cases and the increase in critically ill patients, this number is likely to rise further.

Frontline medical staff point out that in the Seoul metropolitan area, where patient numbers have surged, timely transfer of all critically ill patients is not being achieved, creating a precarious situation. However, the government maintains that the current level is manageable. According to the health authorities, as of the previous day, there were 119 ICU beds immediately available and 2,468 beds in infectious disease-dedicated hospitals.

Seoul National Medical Center (Central Infectious Disease Hospital) has prepared emergency treatment beds for critically ill patients (negative pressure isolation ward) / Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

Lee Chang-jun, head of the Patient Management Division at the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s Central Accident Response Headquarters, said at a briefing that "When the outbreak spread in the Seoul metropolitan area in the past, we secured dedicated ICU beds, and they have been operating stably until now." He added, "The ICU bed occupancy rate is below 60%, so there is no major problem yet, but since the number of critically ill patients has been increasing yesterday and today, we are considering measures to secure more dedicated ICU beds."

As of midnight on the same day, the number of new domestic COVID-19 cases, including imported cases, was 313, the highest in 81 days since the outbreak spread at the end of August. The average daily number of domestic cases over the past week reached 181.6. In particular, the metropolitan area accounted for 125.6 cases per day, prompting the government to decide to apply social distancing level 1.5 starting from the 19th. In the Honam region, where infections have spread mainly in university hospitals, the daily average was 19.6, Gangwon region 14.9, and Chungcheong region 10.7. The Gyeongbuk and Gyeongnam regions recorded figures in the 5s, and Jeju less than 1.

Although the metropolitan area is strengthening its quarantine measures by raising social distancing to level 1.5 from the 19th (and the 23rd for Incheon), the government appears cautious about further raising the level, in line with expert opinions. Kang Do-tae, the first chief coordinator of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, said, "The goal of raising to level 1.5 this time is to quickly block the full-scale community spread and reverse the trend of increasing patients." He emphasized, "It is most important to reverse the situation without escalating to level 2, which could cause significant damage to daily life and livelihoods."

He continued, "For the next two weeks, please cancel or postpone all gatherings and appointments as much as possible." He stressed, "Gatherings involving meals or conversations where mask-wearing is difficult carry a very high risk, so I strongly urge everyone to refrain from such activities."

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