1508 Patients Waiting for Hospital Bed Assignment, Largest Number... 250 Increase in One Day

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Eunmo Koo] As new COVID-19 cases surge mainly in the Seoul metropolitan area, the number of patients waiting more than a day for hospital bed allocation exceeded 1,500 on the 11th, setting another record high.

According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters (CDSCH) of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the number of patients waiting for hospital beds in the metropolitan area stood at 1,508 as of midnight that day. This is an increase of 250 from the previous day's 1,258. The previous record was 1,310 on the 26th of last month.

Breaking down the waiting times of patients on that day: 693 have waited more than one day, 349 more than two days, 174 more than three days, and 292 more than four days. Among them, 583 are elderly aged 70 or older, and 925 have other conditions such as hypertension or diabetes.

As COVID-19 cases increase, hospital bed capacity is reaching its limit. As of 5 p.m. the previous day, the intensive care unit (ICU) bed occupancy rate in the metropolitan area was 83.9% (689 out of 821 beds in use). Nationwide, the ICU bed occupancy rate was 79.0% (1,003 out of 1,270 beds in use). Additionally, as of midnight that day, the total number of patients receiving home treatment was 21,969.

By region, Seoul has the highest number with 10,697, followed by Gyeonggi with 7,037, Incheon 1,491, Busan 650, Gyeongbuk 419, Chungnam 293, Gangwon 258, Daegu 232, Gyeongnam 183, Jeju 179, Jeonbuk 145, Daejeon 105, Jeonnam 83, Chungbuk 76, Gwangju 59, Sejong 33, and Ulsan 29.

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