As new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the metropolitan area continued to rise, the number of people waiting for more than a day to allocate a hospital bed exceeded 1,000 today (26th), recording the highest number again.



According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare's Central Accident Remediation Headquarters (heavy water edition), the number of waiting patients for hospital bed assignment in the metropolitan area, which was '0' at the time of the gradual transition to daily life on the 1st of this month, increased day by day, and as of 00:00 today, it was 1,310 people.



Yesterday, the number of hospital beds waiting in the metropolitan area was the highest at 940, but the number increased by 370 in just one day, recording the highest number again.



By dividing the waiting time, the number of waiting times is 712 people for 1 day or more, 240 people for 2 days or more, 119 people for 3 days or more, and 239 people for 4 days or more.



Among them, 484 people aged 70 and over and 826 people with other diseases such as hypertension and diabetes.



In the metropolitan area, the capacity of beds is reaching its limit as the utilization rate exceeds 80% or approaches 80% by type.



As of 5 pm yesterday, the utilization rate of intensive care beds in the metropolitan area was 84.5% (587 out of 695 used).



It increased by 0.6 percentage point from the previous day (83.9%).



By region, Seoul accounts for 86.4% (298 out of 345), Gyeonggi 82.3% (223 out of 271), and Incheon 83.5% (66 out of 79).



There are only 108 beds for critically ill patients in the metropolitan area, including 47 in Seoul, 48 in Gyeonggi, and 13 in Incheon.



4 fewer than the previous day (112).



The nationwide intensive care bed utilization rate was also 72.8% (826 out of 1,135 used, 309 remaining), up 1.3 percentage points from the previous day (71.5%).



In Daejeon and Sejong, there are three intensive care beds each, and in Gyeongbuk, all three secured beds are in use.



The utilization rate of semi-critically intensive care beds for patients whose condition improves from severe to severe or is likely to worsen to severe disease is 82.1% in the metropolitan area (266 out of 324 used) and 68.8% nationwide (346 out of 503).



The utilization rate of hospital beds dedicated to infectious diseases is 75.6% in the metropolitan area and 68.8% nationwide.



The utilization rate of the living treatment center where asymptomatic and mild patients are quarantined is 71.2% in the metropolitan area and 62.0% nationwide as of 00:00 today.



In addition, a total of 7,193 people were treated at home.



(Photo = Yonhap News)