Seoul National University Hospital Expands COVID-19 Beds by 16, Totaling 48

Remodeling into Sub-Intensive Care Unit Beds

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo So-jeong] Seoul National University Hospital announced on the 5th that it will expand the number of beds related to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) to a total of 48.

Currently operating 32 COVID-19 infectious disease beds, Seoul National University Hospital will establish a new semi-intensive care unit with 16 beds. Due to the recent spread of infectious diseases in the metropolitan area and the shortage of treatment facilities for confirmed patients, the hospital decided to expand the number of COVID-19 beds.

Once the semi-intensive care unit is operational, the intensive care beds, which are currently saturated with 20 beds, will have more availability, and treatment efficiency is expected to improve significantly.

The additional beds to be installed by Seoul National University Hospital are located in an area previously used as an employee cafeteria, which has been remodeled into four 4-person rooms and a medical staff residence area.

The expanded space was designed since 2016 to accommodate patients for treatment in disaster situations, with infrastructure such as oxygen and medical gases already established. The hospital explained that disaster simulation training has been conducted annually.

Jung Seung-yong, Vice Director (Head of the Disaster Medical Headquarters), said, "Since the facility is equipped with medical equipment, there was no major difficulty in converting it into beds," adding, "We will do our best to prevent the spread of infectious diseases."

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