COVID-19 New Cases Exceed 300,000 for Two Consecutive Days... Concerns Over 'Bed Shortage' Due to Increase in Severe Cases

327,549 New COVID-19 Cases on the 10th... 1,113 Critically Ill
KMA: "Stop Premature Easing of Restrictions... Implement After Peak"
Health Authorities: "Critical Cases Manageable... Can Handle 2,500 with Bed Efficiency"

On the 10th, with 327,549 new COVID-19 cases recorded, marking the second consecutive day with over 300,000 cases, citizens are waiting for testing at the screening clinic of Songpa-gu Public Health Center in Seoul on the morning of the 10th.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] The number of new COVID-19 cases has remained in the 300,000 range for two consecutive days, leading to a rapid increase in the number of critically ill patients. Given this situation, concerns are emerging that the 'bed crisis' experienced during the Delta variant surge at the end of last year could be repeated. In particular, these concerns have grown as the government recently temporarily lifted the vaccine pass (proof of vaccination or negative test) and eased social distancing measures, signaling a relaxation of quarantine policies. However, the government maintains that the medical response capacity is still manageable at this time.

According to the Central Disease Control Headquarters (CDCH) as of midnight on the 10th, the number of new domestic COVID-19 cases was recorded at 327,490. This marks two consecutive days with figures in the 300,000 range following the previous day's 342,446 cases, and with the cumulative number of confirmed cases surpassing 5 million, it appears that one in every ten citizens has been infected with COVID-19. The number of critically ill patients currently hospitalized also increased to 1,113.

As the Omicron variant has become dominant, the COVID-19 outbreak is spreading rapidly. It took 23 days for the number of new domestic cases to rise from the 10,000 range to the 100,000 range. Subsequently, it took 12 days to reach the 200,000 range and 7 days to reach the 300,000 range.

Consequently, voices expressing concern over a bed crisis are growing louder. Although the severity of the Omicron variant is assessed to be lower than that of the Delta variant, the number of critically ill patients inevitably increases proportionally as the scale of confirmed cases grows.

During the Delta variant surge last December, the medical community already experienced a bed crisis. According to the 'COVID-19 Excess Mortality Analysis' released by Statistics Korea at the end of last month, 4,429 excess deaths occurred over five weeks from November 28 to January 1 during the Delta variant surge, which is twice the 2,133 COVID-19 deaths officially recorded during that period.

'Excess mortality' refers to deaths exceeding the usual level during a certain period, including deaths caused by COVID-19 infection and complications, as well as indirect causes such as lack of medical access.

Citizens visiting the temporary screening clinic set up at Seoul Station Plaza are undergoing tests. The photo is unrelated to specific expressions in the article. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

The actual crisis in Korea's COVID-19 response is expected to come around the end of this month or early April, one to two weeks after the peak of the outbreak. The number of critically ill patients and deaths tends to surge one to two weeks after a rapid increase in confirmed cases.

The problem is that an increase in critically ill patients leads to an increase in deaths. Recently, the fatality rate among Omicron-infected individuals is 0.09%, significantly lower than the 1.44% when Delta was dominant. However, considering that the daily number of confirmed cases has increased more than 100-fold, there are projections that daily deaths could reach 500.

Some point out that the scale of the outbreak and the number of critically ill patients could increase further due to the easing of social distancing and other factors.

Earlier, the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCH) fully lifted the vaccine pass, which had been applied to multi-use facilities and gatherings to verify vaccination history, starting from the 1st. This measure was taken considering the need to streamline quarantine management amid a surge in confirmed cases and the low severity rate of Omicron.

Additionally, from the 19th of last month, the operating hours for restaurants and cafes were extended once from 9 p.m. to 10 p.m., and on the second day of early voting for the presidential election, the hours were extended again from 10 p.m. to 11 p.m.

At that time, experts urged that the easing should be phased in, taking into full account various conditions such as the medical community's treatment capacity and the availability of beds for critically ill patients amid the rapid spread of the Omicron variant. However, easing quarantine measures just before the presidential election sparked controversy over 'political quarantine.'

On the morning of the 10th, citizens are waiting for testing at the screening clinic of the Songpa-gu Public Health Center in Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]

There are also voices criticizing the government's relaxation of quarantine guidelines. The Korean Medical Association's COVID-19 Countermeasures Committee issued a statement on the 8th, saying, "The government should stop easing quarantine measures and implement them only after observing the trend of patient cases and once the peak has passed."

The association stated, "The government is hastily relaxing quarantine policies before the number of cases has reached its peak," adding, "The surge in infections is making it difficult for medical institutions to operate stably." They further called for ▲differentiated easing for vulnerable facilities such as nursing hospitals and facilities and daily activity venues like restaurants ▲measures to protect the functions of medical institutions ▲and expansion of the prescription scope for the oral COVID-19 treatment 'Paxlovid.'

Meanwhile, quarantine authorities maintain that there is still room in medical capacity. Park Hyang, head of the Central Accident Response Headquarters' quarantine team, said at a regular COVID-19 briefing on the 8th, "Although confirmed cases are increasing, critically ill patients and deaths are being maintained within manageable limits," adding, "As a result of the government's continuous expansion of hospital beds, stable response is possible for about 2,000 critically ill patients, and if bed operations are optimized, it is assessed that up to 2,500 critically ill patients can be managed."

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