<Anchor>



Today (5th), the number of new COVID-19 cases is expected to be in the mid-to-late 200,000s. As the weekend passed, it increased significantly from yesterday, but it is expected to decrease by about 70,000 from a week or two ago.

The number of severe cases and deaths is also expected to peak this week at the earliest and then decrease, the government predicted.



Reporter Park Soo-jin reports.



<Reporter>



In the past week, the number of confirmed cases is about 285,000, a marked decrease for the third week.



The number of seriously ill patients, which soared to 1,315 on the 31st of last month, also fell to the low 1,100 range, and the weekly average daily death rate is also on the decline since 359 on the 25th.



[Sohn Yeong-rae / Jung Soo-bon, head of social strategy division (TBS Radio 'Kim Eo-jun's News Factory')): In fact, the number of critically ill and dead patients is also seeing that this week or next week will be the peak period, and there is a phenomenon that is increasing as much as we initially feared. No.

]



However, the general consensus is that the number of severe cases and fatalities will not drop sharply.



[Choi Jae-wook/Professor of Preventive Medicine, Korea University College of Medicine: (Severe seriousness, death) The decrease in the peak does not decrease rapidly, but slowly decreases for a long time.

The tail is thick and long...

.]



The key is how to manage the critically ill patients during this period.



In particular, in nursing homes or facilities, where 40% of the deaths are occurring, transfers to higher-level hospitals are still not performed properly.





[Survivors of the corona deaths in nursing hospitals: Corona

patients have also appeared in their emergency wards, and they all said that it is no longer possible and that they will not be able to accept patients from other hospitals.]

If it is managed stably, we are also considering removing all social distancing except for wearing a mask indoors.