Record High of 460 Severe COVID-19 Cases (Summary)

Deaths Exceed 3,000 Cumulative

Authorities Say "No Major Issues in Medical Response"
ECMO and Ventilator Additional Procurement Underway

On the morning of the 10th, citizens are lining up to get tested at the COVID-19 screening clinic at Songpa-gu Public Health Center in Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] The number of critically ill COVID-19 patients hospitalized reached a record high of 460.

The Central Disease Control Headquarters announced on the 10th at midnight that the number of critically ill patients increased by 35 from the previous day to 460, marking an all-time high. This figure is 26 more than the previous record of 434 on August 25, during the peak of the 4th wave. Of these, 79.6% (366 patients) are concentrated in the metropolitan area. The death toll also rose by 14 from the previous day, surpassing 3,000 with a cumulative total of 3,012. However, the fatality rate remains steady at around 0.78%.

Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters meeting that morning, "Various quarantine indicators such as the number of critically ill patients, deaths, and the infection reproduction number are worsening faster than expected," expressing a "nervous feeling." He added, "Although there is still medical capacity available, if gatherings become more active toward the end of the year and seasonal factors come into play, the possibility of a crisis similar to last year's end cannot be ruled out."

Son Young-rae, head of the Social Strategy Division at the Central Accident Response Headquarters, explained at the regular COVID-19 briefing that morning regarding the surge in critically ill patients, "It is analyzed that the increase in critically ill patients is due to the overall rise in confirmed cases rather than an increase in fatality or severity rates." He added, "Regarding intensive care units, there are 480 beds available out of a total of 1,121 beds, so there is no significant problem in medical response to critically ill patients occurring so far."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

However, as the number of critically ill patients increases, bed occupancy rates are rising rapidly. As of 5 p.m. the previous day, 641 beds, or 57.2%, of the 1,121 intensive care beds nationwide were in use. This is a continuous increase compared to one week ago on the 2nd, when 512 beds (46.1%) out of 1,111 were occupied. In particular, in the metropolitan area, 70.5% (484 beds) of the total 687 beds are in use, with Seoul at 71.3%, Incheon at 73.4%, and Gyeonggi at 68.4%.

Regarding this, Son said, "The speed of increase in critically ill patients is important going forward," and "The overall scale of confirmed cases, especially among the unvaccinated, is expected to be significant." He emphasized the difference in severity rates between unvaccinated and fully vaccinated confirmed cases among those aged 80 and above, where the severity rate is 27.41% for unvaccinated and 8.32% for fully vaccinated, urging vaccination again to prevent severe illness and death.

The government is continuously expanding medical capacity by securing dedicated COVID-19 treatment beds and is also pursuing additional purchases of ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) and ventilators. According to the Thoracic Surgery Society, as of the 4th, 112 ECMO units are available domestically, with 38 currently used for COVID-19 patient treatment. The government plans to sequentially introduce 33 more ECMO units and 60 ventilators by next year with a budget of about 6.7 billion KRW. Kim Ok-soo, head of the Resource Support Team at the Central Disaster Headquarters, explained, "With the current ECMO usage rate, simple calculations show that operation is sufficiently manageable at around 5,000 confirmed cases," adding, "These are intended for emergency use in urgent situations."

Meanwhile, as the Medical Union has announced a general strike on the 11th, raising concerns about medical service gaps, authorities are continuing last-minute negotiations to prevent it. Lee Chang-jun, head of the Patient Bed Management Division at the Central Disaster Headquarters, said, "Through three meetings so far, we have gathered opinions on difficulties occurring in medical sites and various policy improvements," and "We have agreed to hold regular consultations once a month going forward."

He also added, "I understand that hospitals such as Seoul National University Hospital, Boramae Hospital, and Daegu Catholic Hospital, which had planned strikes, have reached agreements between labor and management and will not proceed with strikes." Regarding the rally scheduled for tomorrow, he said, "It is expected to be a rally led by executives calling for policy improvements rather than a strike by individual medical institutions," and "We judge that there is no significant concern about disruption of medical services due to medical institution strikes."

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