Pushing for tighter social distancing rules, one doctor also criticised what he called a lack of government attention to increasing manpower at hospitals.
“Those nurses working with patients on their deathbeds and dealing with their corpses are struggling with fatigue and depression, not knowing when they will be able to get out of the current situation.” Already it’s been two years since the burden of cleaning hospital rooms and bathrooms, and distributing food has fallen to nurses, leaving us no time to even eat,” said Ahn Su-kyeong, a nurse at Korea’s National Medical Center. “As the number of critically ill older patients increases, what is required has also increased. Healthcare workers have been pushing for the new curbs, with doctors and nurses on Monday describing “battlefield” scenes at Seoul’s hospitals. More than 80 percent of the South Korean population has been fully vaccinated. He also urged those eligible for booster jabs to get them as soon as possible, warning about the pressure building on the country’s healthcare system. “We can go beyond this crisis only by beating down the current spread as soon as possible through strong social distancing.” “We’re making all-out efforts to overcome the pressing crisis by expanding our medical capacity and vaccination campaign, but we need time,” Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said at a government meeting. Unvaccinated people can only dine out alone, or use takeout or delivery services. Restaurants cafes and bars will also need to close by 9pm and movie theatres and internet cafes by 10pm. Under the new rules, which will come into effect on Saturday, gatherings are limited to no more than four people, as long as they are fully vaccinated. But with new daily infections soaring and healthcare workers warning of “mayhem” at hospitals, the government has come under increased pressure to roll back the policy. The measures, announced on Thursday, come a month and a half after the South Korean government eased restrictions under a “Living with COVID-19” policy. South Korea says it will reimpose curfews on businesses and tighten social distancing rules as the number of COVID-19 infections and severe cases reach record highs.