정부 "중환자 병상 차질 없어…확산세 2주 계속되면 문제"<br /><br />As the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases continues to rise here in South Korea, health officials are concerned about the amount of hospital beds the nation has for critically ill patients.<br />The government says that availability is okay for now...but the country may face problems if the trend continues for another two weeks.<br />Bae Eun-ji reports.<br />With South Korea experiencing a surge in new COVID-19 infections, 77 patients are currently on artificial respiration,... and about 20-percent of them are aged 60 or over.<br />The government said on Friday that there are only 100 hospital beds available nationwide for patients who are critically ill.<br />"With 100 beds in total for critically ill patients... we believe there isn't too much of a problem in being able to treat them for now. But if the current trend continues for two weeks more, we may experience problems."<br />The nation plans to secure 200 more hospital beds by the end of this year, and 450 more in the first-half of next year.<br />A doctor from a large medical center in Seoul says its hospital beds are fully occupied with patients.<br />"If the daily number of cases continues to be over 400 for a month,...there's going to be at least 150 critically ill patients. If this happens, we would not be able to accommodate all of them with the amount of beds we currently have."<br />As 44 of the 100 are in the greater Seoul area, there are concerns about availability in other parts of the country.<br />Prime Minister Chung Se-kyun said on Friday that authorities should make sure that medical infrastructure remains available in places such as Gangwon-do and Jeolla-do provinces...where there is a relatively small number of beds.<br />The government is also running 14 community treatment centers which can accommodate 3-thousand people,...for those who are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms.<br />Currently, with 1-thousand-600 people being treated in these centers, they are 54-percent full.<br />The government plans to create more through cooperation with local authorities,... especially in the capital area where most of the confirmed cases come from.<br />Bae Eun-ji, Arirang News.<br />
