More than three out of four intensive care unit(ICU) beds for severe COVID-19 patients are being used in the Seoul metro area amid a continued rise in cases. 

According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare on Monday, 76-point-four percent of intensive care beds for serious COVID-19 cases in Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi Province were occupied as of 5 p.m. Sunday. 

This means that only 162 of a total 687 beds in the Seoul metro area are currently available. The ICU bed occupancy rate grew two-point-two percentage points from Saturday to surge beyond 75 percent. 

Earlier in the day, senior health ministry official Son Young-rae said on a radio program that, although bed occupancy in the capital region is rising, there is still room in the nation as a whole. He said the government will consider taking emergency quarantine measures if the nation’s ICU capacity tops 75 percent. 

The government is set to unveil on Tuesday the criteria for launching the emergency measures.