Record High Severe Cases and Deaths... Government Announces Comprehensive Quarantine Measures Amid Bed Capacity Limits

On the 28th, the temporary COVID-19 screening clinic at Seoul Plaza is crowded with citizens waiting to get tested. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo So-jeong] Amid a severe shortage of intensive care unit (ICU) beds due to a sharp increase in critically ill COVID-19 patients, the government will hold a special quarantine inspection meeting chaired by President Moon Jae-in on the 29th and announce a comprehensive quarantine plan. This meeting will also evaluate the quarantine situation under the 'Step-by-step Recovery of Daily Life (With Corona)' policy implemented for four weeks since the 1st.

According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters of the Ministry of Health and Welfare on the 28th, as of 5 p.m. the previous day, the nationwide ICU bed utilization rate for severe patients was 75.04%, up 1.82 percentage points from the day before.

As the scale of the COVID-19 outbreak grows and critically ill patients surge, not only ICU beds in the metropolitan area but also those in non-metropolitan areas are filling up, and now the nationwide bed situation meets the emergency evaluation criteria for COVID-19 risk levels.

The ICU bed utilization rate in the metropolitan area rose 1.9 percentage points from 83.5% the previous day to 85.4%. In Seoul, 86.1% (297 out of 345 beds) are in use, Gyeonggi Province shows 85.2%, and Incheon has a utilization rate of 83.5%.

As ICU beds in the metropolitan area become scarce, the number of patients waiting for beds is also increasing. As of midnight on this day, the total number of patients waiting for beds in the metropolitan area is 1,265. After surpassing 1,000 for the first time with 1,310 on the 26th, the number has remained in the 1,000s for three consecutive days. There are also 130 patients waiting for ICU beds for more than four days.

ICU beds in non-metropolitan areas are also rapidly filling up, with no remaining ICU beds in Gyeongbuk. Daejeon and Sejong each have one available ICU bed, while Chungbuk and Chungnam can admit only three and four additional patients, respectively.

COVID-19 deaths are also increasing. As of midnight on this day, the number of new deaths was 56, marking an 'all-time high.' Among the 3,928 new confirmed cases, 38.7% (1,522) were elderly aged 60 and above. The number of critically ill patients increased by 13 from the previous day to 647, setting a record high for six consecutive days.

The government will hold a special quarantine inspection meeting chaired by President Moon at the Blue House on the 29th to decide on measures to strengthen quarantine. Earlier, the government held a non-face-to-face meeting of the Daily Life Recovery Support Committee's Quarantine and Medical Subcommittee to discuss the COVID-19 risk level.

Professor Cheon Eun-mi of the Respiratory Medicine Department at Ewha Mokdong Hospital said, "The COVID-19 risk level is already high, with the metropolitan area at the highest level of 'very high' and nationwide at 'high,' and the metropolitan ICU bed situation has reached its limit. The government should reduce the spread of infection through emergency plan activation, expansion of the quarantine pass, and rapid additional vaccinations for the elderly."