South Korea reported 516 new confirmed cases of Coronavirus or COVID-19 on March 4, taking the total number to 5,328. Among all cities, Daegu is the most affected with hundreds of people swarming hospitals that are struggling to provide beds for the patients.
Daegu alone has over 2,300 confirmed cases of Coronavirus. It is also the country's fourth-largest city which experience surge in cases of coronavirus after it allegedly spread from a patient belonging to Shincheonji cult.
Hospitals are running out of bed in South Korea
The hospitals in South Korea are running out of bed and space. So, every day hundreds of patients are seen lining up in front of the hospital waiting to get checked and treated. According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), South Korea has reported 32 deaths so far. The health experts are of the opinion that after testing more than 200,000 members belonging to the Shincheonji cult, thousand more cases are expected to be confirmed, increasing the number of coronavirus cases in the country.
Addressing the issue, South Korea's Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun stressed on the need for special measures in times of emergency. It is necessary to proactively inject all available resources, he added. Most critical cases of COVID-19 are handled at a military hospital that has a 100-bed capacity. As the numbers of patients in critical condition are increasing, at least 200 additional beds will be provided to the military hospital, say reports.
Moon Jae In apologized for shortage of face mask supply
Speaking about the scarcity of resources, President of South Korea, Moon Jae In apologized for the shortage of supply of face masks. Recently, the government asked the face mask manufacturing companies to cut down export to less than 10 percent of total production. At least half of the totally produced face masks have been asked to be handed over to the government
Manufacturers of face masks must immediately cut down mask exports to less than 10 percent of their total production, and more than half of production must be supplied to Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, said an announcement from the government. Thus measures have been taken to provide 90 percent of the face masks produced in South Korea for the use of people of the country.
It is said that the country has around 140 companies manufacturing masks. These companies can produce up to 10 million masks a day. Accordingly, they will have to use nine million masks in the Korean domestic market.
