Korea faces ICU bed shortage for virus patients

Workers set up containers as temporary hospital wards to accommodate COVID-19 patients on the grounds of Seoul Medical Center in Jungnang District, Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap

By Bahk Eun-ji

Korea is facing a shortage of intensive care unit beds (ICU) as the country has seen a sharp rise in the number of daily new COVID-19 infections.

Central and local governments are struggling to come up with countermeasures, with Seoul City creating makeshift wards using containers on the grounds of city-run hospitals.

According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, Wednesday, there remained only 43 ICU beds for patients in critical condition across the country as of Tuesday when 686 new coronavirus cases were confirmed. Such beds are for seriously ill patients who need respiratory and other life-support equipment to provide extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) and high-flow oxygen therapy.

The new infections number, the second-highest since January when the first case was reported, was up from 594 the previous day. The number of domestically transmitted cases reached 662, while that of imported ones was 24.

The health authorities have warned that daily infections could reach 1,000 next week if the country fails to curb the new wave of COVID-19, saying they will take preemptive steps to try and get the resurgence under control.

In Seoul and the surrounding metropolitan area where 524 cases were added for Tuesday, there were only 12 beds remaining for critically ill patients. In Daejeon, South Chungcheong, North and South Jeolla, and South Gyeongsang provinces, no ICU beds were available for seriously ill patients.

The situation is raising concerns that proper treatment may no longer be available for not only coronavirus patients but also patients with serious conditions from other diseases who also need to remain hospitalized.

There are still beds at hospitals for non-serious coronavirus patients or at other facilities for people with mild symptoms, or asymptomatic patients, but experts worry they may also get full soon if the current pace of the virus spread continues.

“If we can't curb the infection pace, the medical system may collapse,” Vice Health Minister Kang Do-tae said in a government meeting Tuesday. “We may see the situation where essential medical services, such as emergency treatment, cannot be provided.”

As the number of daily new patients has suddenly become larger, many have been unable to be hospitalized or admitted to facilities immediately but have had to wait for a couple of days. In the case of Seoul, only one third of 214 new patients confirmed Monday were admitted, according to the city government.

President Moon Jae-in presided over an emergency meeting to address the quarantine and treatment situations in Seoul and the surrounding area.

The health authorities are trying to secure additional beds at hospitals for COVID-19 patients and turn public facilities into places to house asymptomatic patients.

For its part, Seoul City is planning to have 150 partitioned off beds in the containers by the middle of next week.