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Doctors, nurses face burnout amid 3rd wave of infections
A member of medical staff works at an isolation ward occupied by COVID-19 patients at the National Medical Center in central Seoul, Friday. / Yonhap
By Jun Ji-hye
By Jun Ji-hye
Medical staff in Korea who have been fighting on the front lines against COVID-19 since January are suffering serious fatigue, as the rapid increase in new virus cases is showing no signs of slowing down amid the third wave of infections.
A rapid increase in the number of virus patients in recent weeks has led to a rise in the number of critically ill patients, placing an additional burden on the already-tired medical workers.
Doctors and nurses are finding the situation especially strenuous as there is no clear indication as to when the public health crisis will come to an end, as the country's new daily cases keep increasing due mainly to sporadic infection clusters traced to nursing homes, religious facilities, private education institutes, military bases and gatherings of families or friends across the country.
According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), Friday, the country added 689 infections for Thursday, raising the total caseload to 40,786.
The new daily virus cases marked a slight rise from 682 identified Wednesday, and it is the second-highest mark since January when the country reported its first confirmed COVID-19 cases.
Among the 689 new cases, 673 were transmitted locally, while 16 were imported from overseas. Among the local infections, 512 were from the Seoul metropolitan area, which includes Incheon and Gyeonggi Province.
Chief nurse Lee Eun-joon of Seoul National University Hospital who has taken care of virus patients said all medical staff there are worn out as it seems impossible to tell when the pandemic will be over.
“There has been a consistent increase in the number of patients in critical condition who require oxygen treatment such as extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO),” Lee said. “Everyone is focusing on treating those patients.”
Patients receiving ECMO treatments require two or three times more medical staff than general patients, as they can fall into critical condition at any time.
According to the Korean Society for Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Thursday, 10 more patients needing ECMO have emerged over the past week.
Not only medical personnel, but also epidemiological investigators have faced burnout due to pressure and stress.
You Myung-soon, a professor of Seoul National University's Graduate School of Public Health, conducted a group interview on 20 epidemiological investigators last month and found out 80 percent of the participants were suffering from emotional weariness. Some of the participants said they even dreamed of conducting epidemiological investigations while they slept.
The KDCA said the government is working with the utmost effort to slow the spread of the contagious disease by expanding virus testing in the Seoul metropolitan area.
“In addition to the standard polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, we will utilize other test methods such as saliva and antigen tests, which are faster than PCR tests,” Yoon Tae-ho, a senior health official, said during a media briefing. “We will also expand human resources in epidemiological investigations by dispatching soldiers, police officers and civil servants.”