Government "Expanding Beds to 25,000 Next Month"... Up to 8,000 Confirmed Cases Expected by End of This Month

Highest Number of Severe Patients at 1,063
Over 10,000 More Beds Secured Due to Shortage
Prime Minister Kim: "Prepare Measures in Advance to Handle 15,000 Daily Confirmed Cases"

[Asia Economy Reporters Sojeong Seo, Seonhee Son] As the number of severe COVID-19 patients reached a record high of 1,063 on the 22nd, exacerbating the hospital bed shortage crisis, the government has decided to expand the number of moderate to severe beds to 25,000 by January next year.

Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum stated at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters meeting held at the Government Seoul Office that day, "We will expand hospital beds to a level that can handle 10,000 new COVID-19 cases daily," adding, "We will secure an additional 10,000 moderate to severe beds by mid-January next year, increasing the current 15,000 beds to a total of 25,000."

Prime Minister Kim emphasized, "We will prepare measures in advance to handle up to 15,000 new cases per day." He said, "Some public hospitals such as the National Medical Center, Seoul Medical Center, and Veterans Hospitals will be vacated and converted into dedicated COVID-19 hospitals," and "To strengthen intensive care capacity, more than 300 severe beds will be additionally secured at national university hospitals such as Seoul National University Hospital." He also mentioned plans to secure 3,000 more beds through additional designation of base dedicated hospitals.

The government also decided to support the expansion of medical personnel, which has been continuously requested by the medical community. Prime Minister Kim said, "Military doctors and public health doctors will be prioritized for deployment to COVID-19 treatment hospitals, nurses who have completed intensive care training will be immediately deployed on-site, and support for medical personnel wages will be further strengthened." He added, "Living treatment centers will increase beds by a total of 20,000, and bed operations will be optimized at each stage from admission to discharge to maximize actual utilization rates."

The government's additional announcement of the bed securing plan is interpreted as a response to the rapidly increasing number of severe patients recently, which has brought the hospital bed crisis to a serious level. According to the Central Disease Control Headquarters, as of midnight that day, the number of new COVID-19 cases was 7,456, surging back to the 7,000 range after four days. The number of severe patients reached a record high of 1,063.

According to estimates by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, if the effect of social distancing measures over the past two weeks is maintained, the maximum daily new cases are expected to be about 8,000 by the end of this month and about 4,700 by the end of next month. If the effect of social distancing decreases, up to 8,400 cases are expected by the end of next month. The government analyzed that if the increase in cases worsens, there is a high possibility of 10,000 new cases daily, which is higher than predicted. It also predicted that the severe case rate could rise to 2.5% and the hospitalization rate to 18.6%.

According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare's Central Accident Response Headquarters, as of 5 p.m. the previous day, the nationwide utilization rate of severe COVID-19 beds was 79.2%, hovering around 80%.

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