SEOUL (SOUTH KOREA) – South Korean health authorities said on Wednesday that more than 40% of new coronavirus cases in the country are in people who are above 60 years. This is the reason for the surge in the number of patients who are critically ill.
The country is battling a second round of infections and they are centred in the capital city and its suburbs, home to 25 million people.
As of Tuesday midnight, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recorded as many as 267 new cases of infection, marking a narrow increase compared to the previous day. Overall, the country has reported 20,449 infections and 326 fatalities.
Vice Health Minister Kim Gang-lip said on Wednesday that the number of severely or critically ill patients stood at 124.
“The number in critical condition is steadily increasing,” he said.
The country witnessed the largest outbreak outside China in the region earlier this year and they were mostly in youngsters. That accounted for the low number of fatalities, said experts.
The spurt in the number of infections has strained hospital resources so much so that there are less than 3% of hospital beds – or just nine – available for critical cases in greater Seoul compared to 22% 10 days ago, said the health ministry.
Kim said the government is exploring ways to increase the bed capacity for critical cases as most of the new patients are above sixty and the number is likely to rise.
The ministry said only social distancing can bring the number of new infections down. He urged people to cancel trips and remain indoors as far as possible.
(Photos syndicated via Reuters)
This story has been edited by BH staff and is published from a syndicated field.
