CONCERNS OVER ICU BED SHORTAGE

[Anchor Lead]

The number of critically ill patients in Korea is soaring as Covid-19 infections are spreading rampantly among the elderly. Three out of four ICU beds in the greater Seoul area are currently occupied. The government says it's preparing to handle as many as ten thousand infections a day.

[Pkg]

The number of critically ill Covid-19 patients in Korea is snowballing. As of 12 a.m. Tuesday, there were 495 severely ill patients. The daily number of patients in serious condition has stayed in the 400s since Nov. 6. Last week the average number of ICU patients recorded 447, an increase of more than 80 patients from the previous week.

[Soundbite] Park Hyang(Central Disaster Management HQs) : "Most of the ICU patients and those who die from COVID-19 are over 60. The surge is mostly due to infections among senior citizens."

The number of ICU beds available is declining rapidly. 76.1 percent of ICU beds in the greater Seoul area are already occupied. That's more than the 75-percent threshold set by the government for implementing an emergency plan. The nationwide average surpassed 56 percent last week, surging by more than 9 percentage points in just a week. Early this month the government issued an administrative order to secure more ICU beds, but it will take four weeks to get them ready. If the number of critically ill patients in the capital region keeps soaring at the current pace, they will inevitably be transported to other regions.

[Soundbite] Lee Chang-jun(Central Disaster Management HQs) : "We need a system for transporting ICU patients to non-capital regions and transferring patients among general hospitals and medical centers dedicated to treating COVID-19. We are also considering allowing patients to stay at quarantine centers or at home during recovery."

Finding more health workers is also urgent.

[Soundbite] Prof., Eom Joong-sik(Gachon University Gill Medical Center) : "Finding enough nurses and doctors to treat hospitalized patients is not easy. In reality utilizing 100 percent of available hospital beds is challenging."

The government described the situation as "precarious" but says it's getting ready to handle as many as ten thousand cases daily by securing more hospital beds.