Severe Bed Occupancy Rate in the Seoul Metropolitan Area Exceeds 80%... Practically Saturated

Nationwide Operation Rate at 77.7%... Only 302 Beds Left
420 Patients Waiting for Hospitalization in the Capital Area... 270 Have Been Waiting for Four Days

On the 23rd, as the spread of COVID-19 continued, medical staff at Seoul Medical Center in Jungnang-gu, Seoul, a hospital dedicated to COVID-19 treatment, were transporting patients. According to the Central Disease Control Headquarters, as of midnight that day, the number of critically ill patients reached 1,083, the highest ever recorded. The number of deaths also reached a record high of 109. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] As the number of severe COVID-19 patients has remained above 1,000 for six consecutive days, the utilization rate of severe care beds in the Seoul metropolitan area has exceeded 80%, effectively reaching full capacity.

According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters (CDSCH) of the Ministry of Health and Welfare on the 26th, as of 5 p.m. the previous day, the utilization rate of severe COVID-19 beds in the metropolitan area was 82.5% (706 out of 856 beds in use), up 0.3 percentage points from 82.2% the day before.

By detailed region, Seoul recorded a utilization rate of 80.9% (304 out of 376 beds in use), Incheon 90.2% (83 out of 92 beds in use), and Gyeonggi 82.2% (319 out of 388 beds in use).

It is difficult for intensive care beds to be 100% utilized due to admission and discharge procedures and securing spare beds. Therefore, the government considers a utilization rate above 75% as a 'warning signal' and above 80% as effectively full capacity.

The nationwide utilization rate of severe COVID-19 beds was 77.7% (1,054 out of 1,356 beds in use), up 0.5 percentage points from 77.2% the previous day. Only 302 beds remain nationwide. Sejong and Gyeongbuk have no remaining beds, while Ulsan, Chungbuk, and Daejeon have only 1, 3, and 5 beds left, respectively.

The government has issued an administrative order requiring patients hospitalized in severe beds for more than 20 days after symptom onset to transfer to other hospitals or beds, and is planning to add about 10,000 COVID-19 beds, including severe beds, by next month.

Despite the shortage of beds, the number of severe patients continues to rise. As of midnight on the day, the number of severe patients was 1,081, maintaining the 1,000 range for six consecutive days since the 21st. The number of severe patients has remained around 1,000 for nine consecutive days (1,016 → 1,025 → 997 → 1,022 → 1,063 → 1,083 → 1,084 → 1,105 → 1,081).

In the metropolitan area, 591 patients are waiting for beds for more than one day. Among them, 420 are waiting for hospitalization, a sharp increase of 258 from 162 the previous day. The remaining 171 are waiting to be admitted to residential treatment centers, mainly for mild cases. Among those waiting for hospitalization, 270 have been waiting for more than four days.

Meanwhile, the number of patients under home treatment was 31,686, down 974 from 32,660 the previous day.

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