"Critical Patients and Deaths Continue to Rise"… 330 Dedicated Beds to Be Gradually Reactivated Starting Tomorrow

Response to up to 200,000 New Confirmed Cases... Expansion of General Hospital Beds
Plan to Increase Cold Medicine Supply by 50% to Prepare for Simultaneous COVID-19 and Flu Outbreaks

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] As the number of critically ill patients and deaths from COVID-19 continues to rise during hospitalization, the government will secure hospital beds to respond to 200,000 daily confirmed cases starting from the 28th. Additionally, to stabilize the supply of antipyretic analgesics, the government plans to supply more than 50% additional monthly average of acetaminophen for prescription use compared to the existing amount until November next year.

According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters on the 27th, from the 20th to the 26th of this month, the average daily number of critically ill COVID-19 patients was 460, and the average daily number of deaths was 48 to 49.

In particular, although the increase in new confirmed cases has weakened, the number of critically ill patients and deaths remains high, with severe cases continuing to rise mainly among the elderly aged 60 and over. As of midnight on the 25th, among the 53,698 new confirmed COVID-19 cases, 13,799 were high-risk individuals aged 60 or older, accounting for 25.7% of the total. Among the 55 COVID-19 deaths in one day on the 24th, 51 (92.7%) were aged 60 or older.

Securing Dedicated Hospital Beds to Respond to 200,000 Confirmed Cases

The government has prepared a medical response plan in anticipation that confirmed cases may surge during this winter’s resurgence period depending on the influx of new variants and additional vaccination rates.

First, to actively respond to hospitalization demand, the government decided to increase hospital beds capable of handling up to 200,000 daily confirmed cases, which is the maximum forecast for the resurgence. Severe and semi-severe beds will be concentrated in advanced general hospitals and large general hospitals with high treatment capabilities, while moderate severity beds will be additionally secured in dedicated nursing hospitals for elderly and bedridden patients, with about 330 beds to be gradually reactivated starting from the 28th.

For outpatient care, medical consultation centers operating during nights and holidays will be expanded, and medical accessibility for home treatment patients will be improved through sharing bed information and hospitalization coordination between local governments and medical institutions.

Additionally, to ensure rapid transfer and treatment of emergency patients, the government will regularly share the status of medical resources such as medical institutions and beds within the region using regional medical councils. For patients visiting emergency rooms, the principle of 'treatment first, testing later' will be applied to support prompt medical care.

For infection-vulnerable facilities such as nursing hospitals and care facilities, mobile medical teams capable of providing home visits and vaccinations will continue to operate until January next year. Especially, depending on future trends in confirmed cases and outbreaks of group infections, measures such as strengthening quarantine rules to protect residents will be implemented if necessary.

Health insurance fees for COVID-19 response will also continue to be supported. Fees for integrated isolation management, telephone consultation management, and integrated treatment will be extended until December 31 this year, and from January next year, adjustments will be made differentially considering the necessity of support.

Expansion of Production of Prescription Acetaminophen and Others

Along with this, the government announced measures to stabilize the supply of cold medicines and expand supply, including drug price adjustments, in preparation for the simultaneous spread of COVID-19 and influenza during the winter season.

For acetaminophen (650 mg) for prescription use, which is the most widely used antipyretic analgesic, the government will secure an additional supply of more than 50% monthly average compared to the existing amount for 13 months from this month until November next year. Also, from this month until April next year, designated as the winter and transitional season intensive management period, monthly production will be increased by up to 60% compared to the existing amount.

Accordingly, the supply of prescription acetaminophen will increase from the existing monthly average of 45 million tablets to 67.6 million tablets over 13 months, and to 72 million tablets during the intensive management period. The insurance drug price, which was about 50 won per tablet, will be raised by up to 20 won starting next month.

In this case, the amount patients pay is expected to increase by 100 to 200 won per prescription. However, the price of over-the-counter acetaminophen purchased at pharmacies without a prescription is not affected by this measure.

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