74 Severe or Worse COVID-19 Cases... 52 Critical Including 1 Person in Their 20s (Update)

Image source=Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heung-soon] As of the 30th, there are 74 patients with severe or higher symptoms among the confirmed cases of COVID-19 in South Korea, of which 52 are in critical condition.

According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters for COVID-19, as of this date, 22 patients are classified as severe, requiring oxygen masks or having a fever above 38.5 degrees Celsius, and 52 patients are in critical condition, using mechanical ventilation or artificial respirators. Among the critical patients, there is one person in their 20s and two in their 40s.

For patients with severe or higher symptoms undergoing isolation treatment, therapies such as ECMO (Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation), artificial respirators, and oxygen mask treatment are administered. ECMO is a device that removes blood from critically ill patients whose heart and lungs are not functioning properly, supplies oxygen, and then returns the blood to the body.

Artificial respirators through intubation are used to treat patients who cannot breathe on their own. Patients in a better condition than this but with a fever above 38.5 degrees Celsius or pneumonia causing decreased oxygen saturation receive oxygen mask treatment.

The critical patient in their 20s was initially in a life-threatening condition requiring ECMO, but their symptoms have somewhat improved. Kwak Jin, head of the Epidemiological Investigation and Patient Management Team at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters, stated, "Although the use of ECMO has been discontinued for the critical patient in their 20s, they are still using an artificial respirator, so they are classified as being in a critical stage."

Meanwhile, the cumulative number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in South Korea as of midnight on this day is 9,661, with a total of 158 deaths among the confirmed cases.