<Anchor>



Today (2nd), the number of new corona cases is expected to reach 5,000. The number of critically ill patients also recorded an all-time high every day, and the beds for critically ill patients are already showing the bottom. As previously reported, an omicron mutation infection was also confirmed. The corona situation in Korea is getting worse too quickly.



By Kim Yong-tae, staff reporter.



<Reporter>



Amid the simultaneous cluster infection, the number of new confirmed cases exceeded 2,000 in Seoul, 4,000 in the metropolitan area, and 5,000 nationwide.



It's all for the first time.



Even if the number exceeds 5,000, the quarantine authorities, who expected the time to be in the middle of this month, are nervous about the rapid spread than expected.



In particular, the number of patients with severe cases rose by more than 60 from the day before, soaring to the level of 720.



84% are older than 60 years old.



[Sohn Young-rae/Chief of Social Strategy Team, Central Accident Remediation Headquarters: There is a problem that the number of patients with severe symptoms increases significantly due to the increase in the proportion of the elderly.] The



intensive care beds are virtually saturated.



The utilization rate of intensive care beds in the metropolitan area was close to 90%, and even in the five major hospitals in Seoul, all intensive care units are full or there are almost no empty seats.



The government announced that it would prepare 1,300 beds this month, but about 50 more critically ill beds will be added.



Along with securing hospital beds, the government is encouraging vaccinations every day.



As the vaccination completion rate has exceeded 80%, it is judged that vaccination for adolescents is important along with additional vaccination for the elderly.



[Jung Eun-kyung/Director of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: A total of 2,990 12 to 17-



year-olds

who have been confirmed with COVID-19 in the past two weeks, of which 4

have been vaccinated, or only

0.1%.]

Currently, only those over 12 are vaccinated, but the Food and Drug Administration The wife also began a preliminary review of applications for a Pfizer vaccine for children aged 5 to 11 years.