SHORTAGE IN HOSPITAL SICKBEDS

[Anchor Lead]

New COVID-19 cases in South Korea are numbering in the 400 to 500s each day, fueling concerns of hospital sickbed shortage for critically ill patients. As of today only 66 sickbeds for the critically ill remain nationwide where COVID-19 patients can be immediately hospitalized. The shortage situation is repeating every time the outbreak grows larger and experts call for fundamental solutions, not stopgap measures.

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Currently only 77 hospital sickbeds for critically ill COVID-19 patients remain available in the whole of the country. The number is down by nine in one day. Only nine beds are available in Seoul which is producing the largest number of infections, while 12 remain in Gyeonggido Province and 15 in Incheon. Not one empty sickbed is left in the provinces of Gyeongsangbukdo, Jeollabukdo and Jeollanamdo. The number of critically ill COVID-19 patients stands at 76 as of now but the bigger concern lies ahead. Authorities have forecasted, citing last week's coronavirus reproduction rate of 1.43, that if the spread is not curbed, daily infections can reach 700 to 1,000 in one or two weeks. Therefore critically ill patients could also sharply increase as this figure typically rises in five days time. In September, the government vowed to secure by the year's end over 200 sickbeds for the treatment of the critically ill. It has currently procured 162.

[Soundbite] JUNG EUN-KYEONG(KDCA DIRECTOR) : "We see improvement in the operation of sickbeds for the critically ill compared to August but it's necessary to furtherincrease capacity."

Boosting effectiveness of these beds' usage is another option the government is contemplating over. One possible way is to have patients with mild symptoms undergo treatment from home, and authorities are reviewing its application first to children who would be accompanied by a parent or a guardian. But critics raise safety concerns and note that relieving mild-symptom patients from hospitals will not help secure sickbeds for the critically ill.

[Soundbite] KIM YOON(SEOUL NAT'L UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR) : "Patients who can be treated at home are not checked into the hospital in the first place, and are sent to community treatment centers. So this group of people are not at hospitals to begin with."

The government is expected to lay out additional measures to tackle the sickbed shortage issue on Wednesday.