Concerns are rising over a possible shortage of intensive care unit(ICU) beds as the number of COVID-19 cases and severe COVID-19 patients are growing rapidly in the Seoul metro area. 

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

Seoul had the highest occupancy rate at 78-point-eight percent, while those for Incheon and Gyeonggi Province were at 72-point-two and 73-point-eight percent, respectively. 

In terms of the number of beds, 523 of a total 687 in the Seoul metro area are currently occupied. 

The occupancy rate is slightly lower than Sunday but still over 75 percent. 

The government is currently considering taking emergency quarantine measures if the nation’s ICU occupancy rate tops 75 percent. Currently it sits at 61-point-seven percent.

Amid the concerns, the health ministry held a virtual meeting on Tuesday morning with the heads of major general hospitals in greater Seoul to seek ways to secure additional hospital beds. 

Senior health ministry official Son Young-rae said on a radio program earlier in the day that the ICU occupancy situation in the Seoul metro area could face a major blow if the number of COVID-19 cases and severe patients continues to rise at the current pace.