[Anchor]
Extreme heat has caused 203 cases of heat-related illnesses across the country over just this past weekend. Research suggests that the actual number of patients is significantly higher than what is captured in official statistics.
Reporter Jang Seon-i has the story.
[Reporter]
Lee Seung-hwan, a delivery worker who travels on foot, visits a rest area for platform workers while carrying a heavy delivery bag in scorching heat exceeding 34°C (93°F).
When delivery volume is high, he handles over 20 orders a day, making it routine for him to walk 20,000 to 30,000 steps.
He drinks water frequently to avoid heat-related illnesses.
[Lee Seung-hwan/Foot Delivery Worker: It is very difficult when I have to climb stairs, and when I come down, sweat soaks through to my back. With the bag on, it feels very humid and uncomfortable, so I come here to rest.]
In areas with high concentrations of elderly residents living in small, single-room dwellings, efforts to provide assistance have intensified.
[Nam Byeong-cheol/Director of Changsin-dong Small Room Counseling Center: Normally, we patrol the village twice a day as a duty. Because heat-related illnesses are occurring, we have increased that to about six times a day during the summer, including night shifts.]
The number of people who visited hospitals due to heat-related illnesses over the two days, yesterday (July 12) and the day before, reached 203.
This means more than a quarter of the 741 total heat-related illness cases reported since May 15 occurred in just those two days.
[Byeon Jae-min/Head of Emergency Center at Hemyung Hospital: Last year, such cases were rare until at least late July or early August, but a few days ago, we had a case of a heat-related illness involving a construction worker. The onset is quite early this year.]
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency has stated that there have been two deaths from heat-related illnesses so far.
However, academic experts analyze that the statistics compiled from emergency rooms represent only a portion of total heat-related deaths. This is because the risk of death from cardiovascular disease increases by 1.14 times when the perceived temperature reaches 38°C (100°F) or higher, which is the threshold for issuing a severe heatwave warning.
In 2018, when the country experienced record-breaking heat, the number of heat-related deaths reported by emergency rooms nationwide was 48. However, a research team at Dankook University estimated that the actual number of excess deaths caused by the heatwave reached 1,392.
That is nearly 30 times the number reported by emergency rooms.
[Choi Jong-hyuk/Professor of Preventive Medicine at Dankook University College of Medicine: The emergency room surveillance system only tracks heat-related illnesses. In reality, there are hidden populations affected by the heatwave who suffer from various other conditions. When you account for all of those, it shows that many more people are affected by 'excess deaths' due to heatwaves.]
The research team analyzes that these excess deaths are closely linked to the aging population.
(Video coverage: Seol Chi-hwan, Kim Han-gyeol | Video editing: Choi Jin-hwa | VJ: Shin So-young)
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