At This Rate, 10,000 People Could Face a 'Christmas Nightmare'

'With Corona' Just Over a Month, First 7,000 Cases Surpassed
Rapid Surge Accelerates Healthcare System Collapse
Prime Minister Kim: "Improvement Focused on Home Treatment Patients"

The number of new COVID-19 cases surpassed 7,000 for the first time in history. The number of critically ill patients also exceeded 800, marking the highest count since records began. According to health authorities, as of midnight on that day, there were 7,175 new confirmed cases and 840 critically ill patients. The photo shows the line for testing at the temporary screening site in Seoul Plaza on the same day. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] The daily number of new COVID-19 cases has surpassed 7,000 for the first time ever. Just over a month after the start of the "gradual return to normal life (With Corona)" policy, the surge in confirmed cases has exceeded expectations, accelerating the collapse of the healthcare system. There are warnings that the number of confirmed cases could exceed 10,000 within the year if this trend continues.

According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters on the 8th, as of midnight, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases increased by 7,175 from the previous day to reach 489,484, marking the highest number ever recorded. This is nearly 2,000 more than the previous record of 5,352 set on the 4th, just four days ago. Of these, 7,142 were locally transmitted cases and 33 were imported, with 2,890 confirmed cases in Seoul alone.

The number of critically ill patients and deaths is also rising sharply every day. The number of critically ill patients hospitalized increased by 66 from the previous day to 840, surpassing 800 for the first time. The number of deaths the previous day was 63, the third highest ever recorded. The shortage of hospital beds continues. As of 5 p.m. the previous day, the occupancy rate of COVID-19 intensive care beds nationwide was 78.7%, and 84.5% in the metropolitan area, reaching a depletion stage. The number of confirmed Omicron variant cases increased by 2 in one day to 38.

The government is also issuing urgent response strategies daily. Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum chaired the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters meeting and stated, "The capacity for medical response is rapidly being exhausted," and announced, "Home treatment will be significantly improved to be patient-centered." The scope of medical institutions managing home treatment will be expanded to clinics, and the emergency transport system will be strengthened. Prime Minister Kim said, "Starting early next year, oral antiviral drugs will also be prescribed to high-risk home treatment patients."

There are also pessimistic forecasts that the number of new confirmed cases could exceed 10,000 within this year. Professor Jung Jae-hoon of Gachon University College of Medicine warned, "Daily confirmed cases could exceed 10,000 within this month," adding, "We need to hit the brakes now to stop it." He initially predicted 7,000 new cases by early next month and 10,000 by the end of next month based on weekly averages, but the current weekly average of locally transmitted cases has already reached 5,284, rapidly accelerating from 1,881 on the 1st of last month, about a threefold increase.

Professor Jung said, "Although several measures were announced this week, they are insufficient to suppress the increasing spread," and emphasized, "Measures such as adjusting social distancing and limiting interpersonal contact are necessary."