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SEOUL: South Korean authorities on Thursday (Dec. 10) rushed to build hospital beds from shipping containers to ease medical facilities hit by the latest wave of coronavirus, which shows little sign of abating with 682 new cases.
The resurgence of infections has rekindled concerns about an acute shortage of hospital beds, prompting the city of Seoul to begin installing container beds for the first time since the onset of the pandemic.
READ: South Korea to push testing as COVID-19 surge threatens ‘medical collapse’
Health authorities plan to intensify testing by launching temporary sites at approximately 150 locations in the Seoul metropolitan area.
“We are doing our best to stop the spread in the Seoul metropolitan area by mobilizing all available resources,” Health Minister Park Neung-hoo told a meeting.
“Above all, we will secure enough treatment centers and critical hospital beds so that they can receive appropriate treatment in a timely manner.”
READ: South Korea to buy millions of doses of vaccines as COVID-19 cases rise
Thursday’s 682 new infections came a day after the daily count hit 686, the second highest since the country’s first case was confirmed in January, even as stricter social distancing rules went into effect this week. according to the Korea Disease Prevention and Control Agency.
New cases have been persistently around 600 over the past week, driven by smaller, hard-to-track groups around the densely populated capital of Seoul, while the first two waves focused on a handful of groups or regions.
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