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| An intensive care unit at Hyemin Hospital in Seoul is being converted to a negative pressure isolation ward, Wednesday, as the hospital was newly designated as a COVID-19 treatment center. Yonhap |
By Lee Hyo-jin
Medical workers are calling on the government to increase personnel for treatment of COVID-19 patients, as hospitals continue to grapple with unrelenting numbers of critically ill patients.
They argue that recent measures from the administration to secure additional intensive care unit (ICU) beds will do little to resolve the current crisis, without expanding the number of healthcare workers.
The Korean Health and Medical Workers' Union held a press conference, Monday, demanding the government introduce specific ways to increase the number of trained nurses at COVID-19 treatment centers.
"Other than securing more ICU beds, negative pressure isolation wards and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) machines, the government has done virtually nothing to alleviate the burden of overworked nurses. They have long been suffering from burnout as hospitals are on the verge of collapse," said Hong Soo-jeong, a member of the union.
According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, as of Tuesday, the occupancy rate of ICU beds for COVID-19 patients stood at 86 percent in Seoul, 85 percent in Gyeonggi Province and 90 percent in Incheon.
There are no hospital beds left in Sejong City and North Gyeongsang Province, while North Chungcheong Province has just one left.
Against this backdrop, President Moon Jae-in ordered health authorities to come up with "special measures" to address the shortage of ICU beds and insufficient healthcare capacity.
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| Members of the Korean Health and Medical Workers' Union speak during a press conference held at its office in Yeongdeungpo District, Seoul, Monday, demanding the government increase personnel at COVID-19 treatment hospitals. Yonhap |
In response, the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters announced a set of measures, Wednesday, under which about 7,000 hospitals beds would be secured for critically ill patients and those in moderate condition by mid-January.
In preparation for a worst-case scenario where the country may report up to 10,000 infections per day, the government will issue administrative orders on general and university hospitals to secure more wards, while designating more medical institutions as COVID-19 treatment centers.
In addition, 499 hospital beds will be vacated at public hospitals including the National Medical Center, Seoul Medical Center and Veterans Health Service Medical Center for exclusive care of coronavirus patients.
The authorities also plan to send 1,200 more healthcare workers ― 104 doctors and 1,107 nurses ― to COVID-19 treatment hospitals for the treatment of critically ill patients, by dispatching additional doctors including those from the military.
But it remains to be seen whether these measures will solve the ongoing hospital bed crisis, as Korea continues to see record-breaking numbers of infections despite the government's tightened social distancing measures that took effect Dec. 18.
The KDCA reported a record-high figure of seriously ill patients for Tuesday at 1,063, along with 7,456 new infections, pushing up the total caseload to 583,065.
Seven new cases of the Omicron variant were identified, raising the total infections to 234.
Meanwhile, a coalition of self-employed individuals held a massive rally in downtown Seoul, Wednesday, in protest of the implementation of a vaccine pass system and tightened distancing measures.
Small business owners have demonstrated a strong backlash to the vaccine pass, which restricts unvaccinated people from sitting in eateries and cafes unless they are alone, along with placing limits on operation hours of multiuse facilities until 9 p.m. or 10 p.m.
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| Members of a coalition of self-employed individuals hold a rally at a square near Gwanghwamun in Seoul, Wednesday, calling on the government to withdraw the vaccine pass system as well as the limitations on the operating hours of multiuse facilities, and provide sufficient compensation for their financial losses caused by the social distancing measures. Yonhap |
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