SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – South Korea has reported 1,062 new coronavirus cases, the third consecutive day of more than 1,000, as Seoul authorities warn that there is a shortage of hospital beds.
Seoul City said a COVID-19 patient in his 60s died at his home on Tuesday after officials failed to find a hospital bed for him for days. The city said an “explosive growth” in the number of patients this month has led to an “overload of administrative and medical systems.”
The numbers released by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency on Friday brought the national caseload to 47,515.
The death toll rose to 645 after 11 patients died overnight. Of the 12,888 active patients, at least 246 were in severe or critical condition, the highest number since the outbreak of the pandemic.
Son Young-rae, a senior health ministry official, said there were only 49 intensive care beds left for COVID-19 patients nationwide, of which only four were in the capital. He said health authorities plan to secure about 170 additional intensive care beds by early January by designating more hospitals for COVID-19 treatment.
Health authorities are also expanding a massive testing program to find and isolate virus carriers more quickly. Son said the country tested more than 80,000 people on Thursday alone and plans to test patients and employees once every week or two in long-term care settings.
South Korea plans to secure more than 84 million doses of coronavirus vaccines. That would be enough to cover 44 million people out of a population of about 51 million.
Yang Dong-gyo, a senior KDCA official, said they hope to vaccinate 60% to 70% of the population by November 2021, ahead of the start of the new flu season.
More than 760 of the new cases came from the densely populated Seoul metropolitan area, where health workers struggle to stop transmissions related to various places, including hospitals, long-term care facilities, restaurants, churches, schools and military units.
The viral resurgence has put pressure on the government to increase restrictions on social distance to the maximum, something policymakers have been resisting for weeks out of economic concerns. Such measures could potentially ban gatherings of more than 10 people, shut down hundreds of thousands of non-essential businesses, and force companies to let more workers work from home.
Elsewhere in the Asia Pacific region:
– The number of COVID-19 infections from a cluster in Sydney’s northern coastal cities continued to grow on Friday, and the species appeared to have originated in the United States, authorities said. Tests on Thursday and early Friday found 28 new infections. Several had visited the Avalon Beach RSL Club on Dec. 11 and a nearby bowling club called Avalon Bowlo on Dec. 13, New South Wales Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant said. More than 250,000 residents of Sydney’s Northern Beaches Local Government Area were advised on Thursday to work from home and stay at home for three days whenever possible. Others were advised not to travel to the area. Authorities have yet to identify the source of the cluster, but New South Wales will tighten hotel quarantine regulations next week for international aircrews flying between Sydney and the United States. Australia’s largest city was without community communication for 12 consecutive days until Wednesday, when a driver transporting international aircrew in a van to and from Sydney Airport tested positive. His tribe was also from the United States. Australian states have responded to the Sydney cluster by introducing various travel restrictions. The state of Western Australia, which has not had a community transfer case since April 11, requires all travelers from New South Wales to be quarantined in hotels for 14 days.
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