<Anchor>



The United States, where BA.5 has already become dominant, has decided to extend the public health emergency for another three months.

In some areas, the situation has deteriorated to the point of closing emergency rooms due to a shortage of nurses.



Correspondent Kim Jong-won from New York.



<Reporter> At the beginning of



this month, the average number of new confirmed cases per week increased by 15% to over 120,000, from 110,000 at the beginning of this month.



However, due to the spread of self-test kits, the number of hospitalized patients is increasing faster as there are many infected people who are not caught in the official count.



As a result, there is a growing shortage of nurses in some areas, raising concerns about the fall outbreak.



New York State has a nurse shortage at an all-time high, and Massachusetts has 14 percent of vacant emergency room nurse capacity.



In some areas, emergency rooms are closed or even surgery is suspended.



U.S. health officials have started promoting masks and social distancing again.



[Eric Toeple / Director of the Scripps Research Institute: It is important to wear a high-quality mask, keep distance, and clean and ventilate the air.]



Meanwhile, the US Department of Health and Human Services is extending the public health emergency, which was scheduled to be lifted by the end of this month, until October. did it with



Since the first outbreak of the corona crisis, in the United States, you can receive free corona tests, vaccines, and treatments at any pharmacy in this neighborhood.



But when the emergency ends, all of this turns into a fee.



In addition, if the corona test is positive, the test center will provide the treatment, Paxrovid.



(Video coverage: Lee Sang-wook, video editing: Jo Moo-hwan)