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Omicron is also worried, but the Corona situation in Korea is very serious right now. In particular, the number of deaths and critically ill patients, which was the highest ever, is getting worse every day. There are still more than 1,000 patients waiting because there are no beds.



Reporter Jeon Yeon-nam reports.



<Reporter> There



was a long line from early in the morning at the screening clinic in the Plaza of Seoul Station.



As more than 4,000 confirmed cases appeared across the country for the fifth day, the test procession continued.



[Corona 19 tester: (at work) There was a confirmed case and they asked me to take the test, so I think I waited about 30 minutes. I was surprised because there were so many people… .] The number of



deaths and severe cases is also breaking records every day.



Yesterday (27th), the daily death toll was 56, continuing the 50s for two days in a row, and the number of severe cases reached 647, a new record for the sixth day.



ICU beds are filling up quickly.



The utilization rate of intensive care beds nationwide exceeded 75% for the first time.



It exceeded the limit of the stable medical response system set by the government.



In the metropolitan area, 610 out of 714 intensive care beds are in use and are virtually saturated.



[Lee Ki-il / Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters 1st Controller: In fact, the reason that this (intensive care bed) cannot be turned 100% is actually due to the lack of medical personnel.

Therefore, in our opinion, it is necessary to first come up with a plan to make the most of the existing beds.] In the



metropolitan area, the number of patients waiting for more than a day without being assigned a bed was 1,265, exceeding 1,000 for the third day.



Nearly 40% of the waiting group are senior citizens over 70 who are in the high-risk group, and those with underlying diseases such as high blood pressure and diabetes account for 61%.



As bed assignment is delayed, there is a high risk of exacerbation to severe illness.



Although the government is planning to temporarily use intensive care beds in preparation for a shortage of beds for critically ill patients, the nationwide utilization rate of semi-critically intensive care beds has also exceeded 70%.



(Video coverage: Park Hyun-chul, video editing: Lee So-young)