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SEOUL – South Korea is converting shipping containers into temporary rooms and accelerating testing to combat a third relentless wave of the coronavirus.
As the total number of cases surpassed 40,000, more than 500 confirmed patients are waiting at home due to a shortage of hospital beds in Seoul and the Seoul metropolitan area.
The country reported 682 new cases on Thursday (December 10), including 646 local infections.
To ease stress on the medical system, the Seoul city government decided to install 48 “container rooms” at Seoul Medical Center in eastern Seoul by yesterday and send another 102 to provincial hospitals in the coming days.
Noting that patients may face certain inconveniences if they are admitted to these makeshift rooms, authorities sought public understanding of the decision.
“But it is an unavoidable emergency situation,” said an official, adding that they will improve security by installing surveillance cameras and restricting access by outsiders.
Bursting in winter, the third wave of infections is proving the most difficult to control, as too many groups are popping up in different places, from nursing homes to restaurants, saunas and army units. This makes it difficult for contact tracing to catch up.
Also of concern is the growing number of young asymptomatic patients, as well as patients with unknown routes of infection. One in five patients is not linked.
Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun instructed health officials on Thursday to improve screening capabilities and diversify testing methods.
In a meeting with a Covid response team, he also called on private hospitals to “proactively cooperate” with the government to fight the virus, noting that public facilities are reaching their limits in treating critically ill patients.
The data showed that more than 80 percent of hospital beds for infectious diseases are occupied, and as of Thursday only three beds remain available to treat severe cases in Seoul.
President Moon Jae-in on Monday (December 7) ordered the government to dispatch “all available personnel” to support epidemiological investigations, expand testing capacity, and push forward the use of rapid antigen tests that can produce results in just 15 minutes. much shorter than the six hours required for standard polymerase chain reaction (PRC) tests.
Health officials have wasted no time in extending the hours of operation of public health centers that conduct virus tests and introducing rapid antigen tests in vulnerable facilities, such as nursing homes and nursing homes.
The army has also said it will send 362 officers from its special warfare command to public health centers in the capital area starting today, to assist in epidemiological investigations.
Starting next Monday (December 14), temporary testing sites will be established at more than 150 venues where young people gather, in an attempt to curb the spread among the 20s.
Authorities have also started allowing free and anonymous tests, in an attempt to encourage more people to get tested, whether they show symptoms or have come into contact with a confirmed patient.
These preventative efforts will help detect more asymptomatic cases, the Korea Agency for Disease Prevention and Control said.
It added that it can run up to 110,000 tests a day.
More than 24,700 tests were conducted on Wednesday alone. About 72,700 people await the test results.
Eight more deaths were reported Thursday, bringing the total to 564.
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