CONCERNS OVER BED SHORTAGES

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Concerns are rising that hospitals in Korea could soon run out of beds as Covid-19 cases are surging rapidly. More than 900 infected patients are currently awaiting to be hospitalized. The government has vowed to secure beds for semi-intensive care patients by next week.

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The government initially assured it can deal with five-thousand Covid-19 cases daily. But even at three-thousand cases, hospitals are quickly running out of beds. The number of ICU patients has soared beyond expectations as seniors are making up the majority of the infected, hampering efforts to secure ICU beds. More than 570 out of 700, or 83.3 percent of ICU beds in the greater Seoul area are occupied.

[Soundbite] Jeong Eun-kyeong(Director, KDCA) : "ICU beds in the capital region are in short supply, and the situation could get worse in other regions as well in the coming days."

More than 900 infected people are awaiting to be hospitalized in the Seoul metropolitan area. Some 130 patients have waited for more than four days now. Health authorities say some 400 beds for semi-intensive care patients in the capital region will be secured by next week. Semi-intensive care patients are those who may develop serious symptoms or who have recovered from critical condition. The government plans to transport ICU patients to non-capital regions, but hospitals in areas close to the capital region are also struggling to find available beds. In Daejeon, eight out of ten ICU beds are occupied. In Chungcheongnam-do Province -- seven out of ten.

[Soundbite] Prof. Choi Won-suk(Korea Univ. Ansan Hospital) : "Transporting ICU patients entails many risks. It should be avoided as much as possible. But increasing hospital beds continuously is also impossible."

Health authorities say the situation will improve after this week and those who are waiting to be hospitalized are being monitored through home treatment.