Confirmed Cases Hit 'Record High' But How Long Will With Corona Last... What Are the Conditions for Suspension?

Kim Boo-kyum "Urgent Situation Requiring Review of Emergency Plan Activation"

[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] As the number of new confirmed cases and critically ill patients of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) reached an 'all-time high,' the phased daily recovery (With Corona) measures are at a crossroads for suspension.

According to the quarantine authorities and local governments, as of midnight on the 24th, the daily number of new confirmed cases was 4,166. This is the first time since the outbreak of COVID-19 in Korea that the number of new confirmed cases has reached the 4,000 range, surpassing the previous highest number of 3,292 cases recorded on the 18th. The number of critically ill patients also increased by 37 from the previous day, reaching a record high of 586.

Furthermore, as of 5 p.m. the previous day, the intensive care unit (ICU) bed occupancy rate was 70%, indicating an increasing burden on medical response. In particular, the metropolitan area is saturated with an occupancy rate of 83.7%. The number of patients waiting for bed allocation for more than a day also reached 836.

Accordingly, the quarantine authorities are discussing whether to temporarily suspend the 'With Corona' measures, which began on the 1st and are now in their fourth week, at least in the metropolitan area.

Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum stated at the COVID-19 Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters meeting held at the Government Sejong Complex on the 24th regarding the spread of COVID-19, "The quarantine situation is more serious than expected," and added, "Looking only at the metropolitan area, it is an urgent situation where the emergency plan (circuit breaker) must be considered at any time."

He continued, "The phased daily recovery, which was difficult to start, has reached its first critical point," and added, "Above all, the urgent task is to restore the medical response capacity in the metropolitan area, including ICU beds."

Photo by Central Disease Control Headquarters

The Central Disease Control Headquarters (CDCH) presented four conditions for 'emergency evaluation implementation': Δ ICU bed occupancy rate reaching 75% or more Δ weekly evaluation results indicating a risk level of 'very high' Δ four-week phase evaluation results being 'high' or 'very high' Δ and cases where the CDCH or the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters judges that reviewing the emergency plan is necessary based on expert opinions from the quarantine medical subcommittee.

Regarding these items, on the 17th, CDCH Director Jung Eun-kyeong stated, "It is not that the emergency plan will be immediately activated if any one indicator exceeds a certain level," and added, "We will comprehensively evaluate the situation focusing on key indicators and decide by reflecting the opinions of related ministries and the Daily Recovery Committee."

She also added, "The reason for evaluating the risk separately for the metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas is that hospital beds nationwide are managed centrally, and since critically ill patients from the metropolitan area receive treatment in non-metropolitan areas, the bed occupancy and mobilization situation could negatively affect the indicator system. We will base evaluations on the entire country but will distinguish between metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas to assess risk and review action plans."

Meanwhile, the CDCH evaluated the COVID-19 epidemic risk level as 'high' last week (November 14?20). By region, the metropolitan area was diagnosed as the highest level, 'very high,' while the non-metropolitan area was assessed as 'medium.'

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