Over 500 Critical Patients and Bed Shortage... Uncertainty Surrounds Step 2 of Gradual Daily Recovery

Record High of New COVID-19 Cases
Prime Minister to Discuss Hospital Bed Management Tomorrow

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo So-jung] Since the implementation of "gradual daily recovery (With Corona)," the number of new COVID-19 cases has reached an all-time high, making the second phase of daily recovery reform uncertain. The government initially planned to evaluate the implementation of the second phase of With Corona by the end of this month and to enforce it around mid-next month. However, as the outbreak centered in the metropolitan area worsens and the medical system burden intensifies, there is a possibility that the second phase implementation may face setbacks.

According to the Central Disease Control Headquarters (CDCH) on the 18th, as of midnight, the number of new confirmed cases was 3,292, the highest ever recorded, with the total number of cases in the metropolitan area breaking the previous day's record to reach the 2,500 range. There were 1,423 cases in Seoul, 965 in Gyeonggi, and 195 in Incheon, totaling 2,583 cases (78.9%) in the metropolitan area alone. In particular, Seoul reported the second-highest number of cases ever, following 1,436 cases the previous day.

As the number of confirmed cases grows, the number of critically ill patients is also rapidly increasing daily. The number of critically ill patients recorded 506 on the day, following 522 the previous day, maintaining the 500 range and increasing the burden on the medical system. The government has stated that the current medical system can manage up to 500 critically ill patients, but this threshold has been exceeded for two consecutive days.

Hospital beds are also being depleted rapidly. Among the nationwide intensive care unit (ICU) beds, 63.8% are in use, and the bed occupancy rate in the metropolitan area reaches 78.2%. Especially in Seoul, where cases are concentrated, the ICU bed occupancy rate is 80.9%, effectively indicating that beds are "fully occupied." In the metropolitan area alone, the occupancy rate has already far exceeded the government's emergency evaluation criterion of "ICU bed occupancy rate of 75% or higher."

Health authorities and experts view the surge in confirmed cases during the With Corona process as inevitable, and the scale of the outbreak is expected to grow further. Professor Cheon Eun-mi of the Department of Respiratory Medicine at Ewha Mokdong Hospital said, "Confirmed cases will surge further, especially centered in Seoul," and added, "The shortage of beds in the metropolitan area will become more severe, so the government should quickly implement a circuit breaker at least in the metropolitan area."

Professor Jung Jae-hoon of Gachon University College of Medicine's Preventive Medicine Department also said, "Since it is the winter season and the year-end season is approaching, the scale of the outbreak is bound to increase," and urged, "The government must actively prepare preemptive measures to reduce the number of critically ill and deceased patients, especially among the elderly."

Facing the growing outbreak centered in the metropolitan area and the shortage of ICU beds, the government has begun to prepare countermeasures. Minister of Health and Welfare Kwon Deok-cheol said regarding COVID-19 response, "The metropolitan area beds are in a somewhat precarious situation," and added, "The most important thing going forward is medical response." Regarding the direction of social distancing reform, Minister Kwon emphasized, "If a crisis evaluation deems extraordinary measures necessary, restrictions on time or the number of gatherings should also be implemented," and stressed, "The most important thing is to suppress severe cases and deaths."

Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum will hold an emergency meeting with the heads of 22 advanced general hospitals in the metropolitan area on the 19th to discuss the operation plan for beds for critically ill patients.

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