Daegu grapples with shortage of sickbeds amid soaring infections
Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun checks the facilities at the Ministry of Education's National Education Training Institute in Daegu, Monday, as the institute has been designated as a facility to accommodate COVID-19 patients with mild symptoms amid a worsening shortage of sickbeds. / Courtesy of the Prime Minister's Office
By Jun Ji-hye
The continuous surge in the number of COVID-19 patients has resulted in a serious shortage of hospital beds in Daegu, the southeastern city hit hardest by the virus, with about 1,800 confirmed patients still waiting at home to get treatment in hospital, according to the health ministry and city officials, Tuesday.
While Korea has reported thousands of infected patients, 70 percent of confirmed cases have occurred in Daegu, with a major cluster of infections linked to the Daegu branch of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus.
Following the deaths of several patients in the region who were waiting at home for hospital admission, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), after consultation with health experts, decided Sunday to use vacant training centers and other facilities run by the government as well as private companies to accommodate patients with mild symptoms.
Snowballing infections in the region have forced the government to overturn its earlier policy ― created Feb. 24 ― which called for infected patients to receive treatment only at designated hospitals.
“Many patients are still waiting at home to be hospitalized as the government failed to predict the scale of the problem. We are truly sorry about that,” Vice Health Minister Kim Gang-lip said in a briefing.
Kim said, following the government's new decision, 160 patients with mild symptoms were moved to the Ministry of Education's National Education Training Institute in Daegu, Monday. Medical professionals dispatched by Kyungpook National University Hospital will stay there to monitor and treat them.
Samsung Group's human resources training institute in Yeongdeok, North Gyeongsang Province, began accommodating COVID-19 patients with mild symptoms, Tuesday. / Courtesy of Yeongdeok County
Human resources training institutes in the region, run by Samsung Group and NongHyup, began accommodating patients Tuesday, while Seoul National University Hospital's training center is preparing to receive patients within the week.
But the number of rooms at those facilities is only about 700 ― every patient needs one room each due to concerns of cross infection.
“We will promptly secure more facilities to accommodate 2,000 patients by early next week,” Kim said.
Amid the spike in the overall tally for the coronavirus in the region, some potential patients there have visited other regions, including Busan and Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, for diagnostic checks and treatment. Some of whom were confirmed to have been infected with the virus and isolated in those places.
They complained that it was difficult for them to be tested and treated properly in Daegu as the city has focused its efforts mostly on Shincheonji followers who account for about 80 percent of all infections in the city.
The movement of those people later confirmed to be infected is raising concerns of further human-to-human transmission of the virus in other parts of the country.