Reemergence Predicted at 300,000 Cases per Day... 1,435 COVID Beds Secured by Administrative Order (Comprehensive)

1405 Hospital Beds → 4000 Additional Beds Secured Due to Scenario Change
In-Person Visits Suspended at Nursing Hospitals and Facilities... Expansion of Fast-Track Treatment 대상

On the 19th, when the number of new COVID-19 cases surged to over 70,000 in a single day, signaling the start of a full-scale resurgence, commuters wearing masks were moving through Gwanghwamun Station in the Seoul subway during the morning rush hour. According to the Central Disease Control Headquarters, as of midnight that day, 73,582 cases were reported. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Young-won] As the spread of BA.5, a sub-lineage variant of Omicron, is progressing faster than expected, the government has decided to secure an additional 4,000 dedicated COVID-19 hospital beds and suspend in-person visits at nursing hospitals and facilities. To expand testing capacity, the number of temporary screening clinics, which had been reduced to only four nationwide, will increase to 70, and the number of outlets selling self-test kits will also be expanded.

On the 20th, the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters for COVID-19, chaired by Lee Ki-il, the 1st General Coordinator (Vice Minister of Health and Welfare), held a video conference at the Government Seoul Office with central ministries and 17 metropolitan local governments to discuss ▲additional measures for quarantine and medical response in preparation for a COVID-19 resurgence ▲current COVID-19 status and measures in major local governments, and announced these decisions. This comes just one week after releasing a plan to expand the fourth vaccine dose eligibility to those aged 50 and above and establish a stable medical response system in preparation for the resurgence.

Outbreak scale rising from 200,000 to 300,000... Additional hospital beds secured

The quarantine authorities initially planned to reactivate a total of 1,405 hospital beds in preparation for 200,000 new daily confirmed cases but have changed the plan to secure an additional 4,000 beds. To this end, an administrative order was proactively issued for 1,435 beds on the day, and beds will be reactivated in stages depending on bed occupancy rates. The authorities explained that the currently available beds can respond to about 150,000 patients.

Accordingly, 1,276 beds will be secured within one week, 119 beds within two weeks, and 40 beds within three weeks. Park Hyang, head of the Central Accident Response Headquarters’ quarantine team, said, "When we heard opinions from the field about the need to secure beds again, some hospitals said they could do it within a week, but others said it could take up to two weeks due to staff reallocation or moving existing inpatients to other rooms." She added, "Therefore, we will proceed according to the order in which beds can be reactivated."

Additionally, the authorities will conduct weekly PCR tests for all workers at nursing hospitals and facilities, psychiatric hospitals and facilities, and allow only non-contact visits instead of the currently permitted in-person visits to block external infection sources. To protect vulnerable facilities, local governments will operate dedicated response teams and strengthen on-site responses. If a facility resident tests positive, treatment drugs will be actively administered to prevent severe illness.

The 'Fast Track' system, targeting seniors aged 60 and above, immunocompromised individuals, and residents of nursing hospitals and facilities, will be expanded to include patients with underlying diseases and residents of psychiatric hospitals and disability facilities, enabling rapid diagnosis, prescription, and hospitalization within one day. The number of 'one-stop medical institutions' capable of handling COVID-19 diagnosis, treatment, and prescription will be expanded from the current 6,500 to 10,000 within this month.

Regarding COVID-19 therapeutics, an additional 340,000 doses will be introduced in the second half of this year and 600,000 doses in the first half of next year, totaling 940,000 doses. The government plans to respond to the outbreak by early procurement or shortening delivery schedules if additional purchases are needed in the future.

Testing capacity increased... Expansion of temporary screening clinics and self-test kit sales outlets

To meet the increased demand for testing, the number of temporary screening clinics, which had been reduced to four nationwide, will be expanded. Fifty-five clinics will be installed and operated in the metropolitan area, and 15 clinics in non-metropolitan areas. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, Seoul will install 25 clinics, one per district, and 30 clinics will be installed mainly in the metropolitan areas of Gyeonggi and Incheon.

Health center screening clinics, which had high demand for weekend and nighttime testing, will extend their operating hours starting from the 20th. Until now, screening clinics operated only on weekdays during business hours, but from this day forward, they will also operate on weekends and at night.

To enable testing even at night when pharmacies and hospitals are closed or at rest areas during vacation seasons, the management of diagnostic kit supply will be strengthened. A smartphone application will allow real-time monitoring of diagnostic kit availability at convenience stores nationwide, and the requirement to register as a diagnostic kit seller will be temporarily waived until September 30, allowing all convenience stores to sell self-test kits. Previously, only about 23,000 convenience stores registered as medical device sellers could sell kits, but from this day, 48,000 convenience stores nationwide will be able to sell self-test kits.

Furthermore, to quickly detect newly emerging variants such as BA.2.75, the number of variant surveillance institutions will be expanded from 63 to 105, and variant analysis will be enhanced by adding immunological and bioinformatics analyses for risk assessment.

Meanwhile, the government has issued quarantine guidelines encouraging the public to minimize unnecessary outings and meetings, especially for high-risk groups, and to avoid visiting or eating indoors in crowded, enclosed, or close-contact (3Cs) facilities even when outings are unavoidable.

To create conditions for voluntary social distancing, the government and public institutions will lead by example by mandating indoor mask-wearing at all times, promoting remote work and online meetings, refraining from unnecessary gatherings and events, and limiting company dinners. The private sector will also strengthen cooperation and support to establish systems allowing sick employees and students to take sick leave, paid leave, work from home, or attend remote classes without going to workplaces, schools, or academies.

Son Young-rae, head of the Social Strategy Team at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, said, "(Regarding support such as paid leave) various efforts are underway through discussions led by the Ministry of Employment and Labor with economic organizations and labor groups across ministries," adding, "We ask for understanding that if workers cannot take leave and come to work despite symptoms, it could result in large-scale cluster infections and ultimately greater losses. Please help establish this culture together."

As of midnight on the day, the number of new COVID-19 cases was 76,402, which is 1.90 times higher than 40,252 cases on the 13th a week ago and 3.95 times higher than 19,360 cases on the 6th two weeks ago.

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