<Anchor> The



cold has softened somewhat, but Corona 19 was also sharp today (the 5th). The number of new confirmed cases also exceeded 5,000, and the number of critically ill beds in the metropolitan area was almost exhausted. Nearly 1,000 patients have been waiting for the hospital bed, and 300 of them have been waiting for more than four days.



First, reporter Lee Joo-sang reports.



<Reporter>



There was a long line at the screening center even on weekends.



As the corona virus continues to spread, the number of holiday tests is increasing.



The number of confirmed cases nationwide stood at 5,000, an increase of more than 30% from a week ago.



As the number of confirmed cases recorded around 5,000 for the fifth day, medical response faced a limiting situation.



As the number of critically ill patients continued to reach 700 for five consecutive days, the utilization rate of critically ill beds in the metropolitan area exceeded 85%, while Seoul and Incheon both exceeded 90%.



Although 115 beds remain in the metropolitan area, it is difficult to operate immediately due to the lack of personnel and admission procedures.



In Gangwon, North Chungcheong, and North Gyeongsang Province, only one intensive care bed remained.



In the metropolitan area alone, there are 954 people waiting for more than one day for hospitalization, and nearly 300 people waiting for more than four days.



The problem is that more than half of those waiting for the hospital bed are over 70 years old, and the rest have many underlying diseases such as high blood pressure and diabetes.



[Son Young-rae/Chief of Social Strategy Division, Central Accident Remediation Headquarters (last 3 days): We are doing our best to improve efficiency by expanding the beds for critically ill patients and increasing the rotation speed of the intensive care unit.

We will continue to carry out these tasks at an accelerated pace.] The



situation in which waiting for hospitalization and exhaustion of intensive care beds are rapidly spreading to non-metropolitan areas. I see it.



(Video editing: So Ji-hye, CG: Kang Yun-jeong)



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