Also "Fully Occupied"... 18-Month-Old Baby with COVID-19, Who Wandered Searching for a Hospital Bed, Eventually Passes Away

119 Fire Truck. /Photo by Asia Economy

[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] An 18-month-old baby who tested positive for COVID-19 wandered around emergency rooms but was unable to receive treatment and ultimately passed away.

According to the fire department on the 4th, at around 1:27 PM on the 31st of last month in Icheon-si, Gyeonggi Province, a 119 emergency call was received reporting that an 18-month-old boy, A, who tested positive for COVID-19, was experiencing high fever and acute seizures.

When the 119 ambulance arrived at A’s home at around 1:42 PM, A was in a critical condition due to high fever and seizures. However, all nearby hospitals had their isolation beds in the emergency rooms fully occupied.

Eventually, about 40 minutes after the ambulance arrived, at around 2:25 PM, Pyeongtaek Bakae Hospital was assigned. The ambulance immediately began transport, but since the hospital was about 60 km away, it took just over an hour to arrive.

Upon arrival at the hospital, A received emergency treatment such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation from medical staff but died at 4:50 PM the same day.

According to government guidelines, COVID-19 patients with severe symptoms like A must be immediately transported to the nearest emergency room. However, at that time, all nearby hospitals either had their isolation beds in the emergency rooms fully occupied or lacked pediatric specialists.

Meanwhile, there have been consecutive emergency cases recently due to a shortage of specialized beds for pregnant women and infants confirmed with COVID-19.

On the 13th of last month, a pregnant woman in Pyeongtaek who tested positive was urgently transferred to Changwon, Gyeongnam, due to a lack of beds, and on the 9th of last month, a COVID-19 positive pregnant woman in Gwangmyeong was transferred to Hongseong Medical Center in Chungnam due to bed shortages and gave birth there.

Also, on February 18th, a mother who tested positive in Changwon, Gyeongnam, was urgently transferred to Jeju National University Hospital after failing to be assigned a bed, highlighting the nationwide difficulty in securing beds for COVID-19 positive pregnant women.

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