"Confirmed Cases Flooding Local Clinics" ... Cold Medicine and Antipyretics Running Out at Pharmacies

New COVID-19 Cases Reach 620,000; Hospitals 'Overwhelmed'
Home Treatment Patients Near 2 Million
Surge in Cases Causes Shortage of Specialized Medicines
Panic Buying Spreads Even Among Those Not Infected

On the 17th, when 621,328 new COVID-19 cases were reported, visitors at a clinic in Seoul were waiting to take rapid antigen tests. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

"What is this line? Are all these people here for testing?"

At around 10 a.m. on the 17th, at a clinic in Jung-gu, Seoul. Upon entering the building to go to the hospital located on the second floor, there was a long line of more than 30 people stretching toward the narrow stairs at the end of the corridor. Most of those visiting the hospital, ranging from young people in their 20s who appeared to be office workers to elderly seniors, were waiting to take rapid antigen tests. A man in his 30s who had just arrived and completed registration said, "They said I have to wait for an hour from now," and went to the end of the line.

At an otolaryngology clinic in Jung-gu, Seoul, which started consultations at 9 a.m. that day, a notice was posted at the entrance saying, "Those coming for COVID-19 testing, please wait in the waiting room and on the stairs," and several chairs were placed in the corridor. Kang, a 20-something office worker, said, "My throat has been sore since yesterday and my condition has worsened a lot, so on my way to work, I thought I should get tested first, and I have been waiting for 20 minutes." Lee, in his 60s, who had been waiting for 30 minutes before his appointment, said, "I came to get tested because I don't feel well," adding, "I will just get a prescription and go home to rest."

On this day, the number of new COVID-19 cases increased by 621,328, bringing the cumulative total to 8,250,592. This is an increase of 220,617 from the previous day (400,711). The number of deaths was 429, up by 265 from the previous day (164). The number of critically ill patients was 1,159, maintaining the figure in the thousands for ten consecutive days. The number of patients under home treatment was 1,925,759, approaching 2 million.

On the 17th, when 621,328 new COVID-19 cases were reported, visitors at a clinic in Seoul were waiting to take rapid antigen tests. / Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

Confirmed Cases Flocking to Local Clinics

Local clinics and hospitals on the front lines of COVID-19 response are struggling. Since the 14th, when confirmation of COVID-19 became possible through professional rapid antigen tests instead of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method, the demand for testing has surged, and with patients flooding in, concerns about in-hospital infections have increased. A staff member at an internal medicine clinic in Gangdong-gu, Seoul, said, "About 40 to 50 patients visit daily, and now all of them are getting rapid antigen tests," adding, "At present, we have no capacity to see other patients."

An otolaryngology clinic in Jongno-gu is also seeing 60 to 70 patients daily. Especially on the 14th, after the weekend, the number of tests increased to 80. The hospital director said, "We have been conducting PCR tests from the beginning, so the number of patients hasn't increased significantly, but the positive rate among those tested has definitely risen," adding, "At least now the process is automated and a bit better, but initially, due to administrative overload, we had to input positive case information until 9 p.m. before leaving work."

Some hospitals with heavy crowds experienced waiting times exceeding an hour or even had to suspend testing. A hospital in Gwanak-gu, Seoul, had already fully booked testing appointments for the day by the morning of the 16th, and a clinic in Seocho-gu posted a notice stating that rapid antigen testing was unavailable due to depletion of test kits.

As the number of patients confirmed positive at local clinics increased, hospitals collectively expressed that "every day is a precarious situation." They faced confusion due to insufficient preparation time for the changing testing and confirmation system, and despite wearing various protective equipment while working, concerns about in-hospital infections grew. At an internal medicine hospital in Dongtan, Gyeonggi Province, after the director tested positive, the hospital sent text messages to visitors and those with appointments stating, "Closed for a week due to medical staff testing positive," and shut down.

A hospital official said, "The decision to confirm cases through rapid antigen tests starting Monday (the 14th) was made only the previous Friday (the 11th), which caused even more confusion," adding, "It would have been better if we had prepared a little earlier." Another hospital official lamented, "The demand for rapid antigen tests is so high that we can hardly provide home treatment consultations," and "There is a limit to running tests with existing staff, so it is difficult to answer phone calls."

On the 17th, when the number of new COVID-19 cases exceeded 600,000 for the first time, staff members at the Songpa District Office Situation Room in Seoul were tracking the number of new confirmed cases. According to the Central Disease Control Headquarters, as of midnight that day, the number of new confirmed cases was counted at 621,328. There were 1,159 critically ill patients and 429 deaths. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

Pharmacies Running Out of Cold Medicine and Fever Reducers

As COVID-19 cases surge, pharmacies are experiencing shortages of medicines related to respiratory illnesses, such as cold medicine and fever reducers. Some people, even those not confirmed positive, are stockpiling medicines out of fear that they might not be able to buy them when needed. However, since the 14th, with professional rapid antigen testing available at local clinics, the demand for personal COVID-19 test kits has been relatively stable and supply steady.

A pharmacist at a pharmacy in Jung-gu, Seoul, said, "The number of customers looking for fever reducers and cold medicine has increased significantly within a week," adding, "Most medicines are sold out at wholesalers this week, so we are only selling the remaining stock at the pharmacy, but it is almost depleted." At a pharmacy in Hwasun, Jeollanam-do, it was reported, "Tylenol sells out quickly whenever 20 units arrive, and since two weeks ago, cold medicines like Coldaewon and children's fever reducers like Champ are completely unavailable," adding, "Most sore throat medicines are gone, so now we are dispensing herbal medicines."

Not only general cold medicines but also prescription drugs requiring hospital prescriptions are becoming scarce. Kim, a resident of Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, in his 40s, said, "After testing positive for COVID-19 and completing isolation, I still had cold symptoms and got a prescription from an otolaryngology clinic, but every nearby pharmacy was out of stock, and I only managed to get the medicine at the third pharmacy I visited."

The medical community is calling for support to reduce the burden on local clinics and enable them to see patients more actively. A representative from the Korean Medical Association said, "With clinics now responsible for confirming cases, their administrative burden has increased, so measures to alleviate this are needed," emphasizing, "Oral antiviral treatments (Paxlovid) should also be prescribed at local clinics so patients can receive medication immediately."

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