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© Reuters. During the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Tokyo, Japan on August 2, 2021, commuters wearing masks arrived at Shinagawa Station at the beginning of the working day. REUTERS/Kevin Coombs
Authors: Akiko Okamoto, Linda Sieg and Kiyoshi Takenaka
TOKYO (Reuters)-Kyodo News said that the president of the Japanese Medical Association called on Tuesday for a national emergency to curb the surge in COVID-19 cases in Tokyo and other places, the host city of the Olympics, because people are increasingly worried about the strained healthcare system.
Before JMA Chairman Toshio Nakagawa made the call, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announced that only severely ill and at-risk COVID-19 patients will be hospitalized, while others will be isolated at home. Some people worry that the policy change may increase the death toll charges.
The number of coronavirus cases in Japan has increased dramatically. The number of new infections in Tokyo on Saturday reached a record 4,058, and there were 3,709 new cases on Tuesday.
Hironori Sagara, Dean of Showa University Hospital, told Reuters that Tokyo Hospital has already felt the crisis.
“Some people have repeatedly been refused admission,” he said in an interview. “In the exciting Olympic Games, the situation of medical staff is very serious.”
Chief Cabinet Secretary Kato Katsunobu told reporters that the number of infected elderly people has decreased and most of them have been vaccinated.
“On the other hand, the infection rate among young people is increasing, and people in their 40s and 50s with severe symptoms are increasing,” he said, adding that some people cannot be admitted to the hospital immediately.
Yoshihide Suga announced a change in hospital policy on Monday, saying that the government will ensure that people isolated at home can be hospitalized if necessary. Previous policies focused on hospitalization of a wider range of patients.
According to Suga Yoshihide and the Olympic organizers, July 23 to August. 8 The Summer Olympics and cases have increased dramatically.
However, medical experts say that hosting the Olympics sends a confusing message that the need to stay at home has led to an increase in the number of people.
Unlike voluntary restrictions and low vaccination rates elsewhere in Japan, more than 80% of athletes and coaches in the Tokyo Olympic Village are vaccinated, testing is mandatory, and movement is restricted.
Organizers announced 18 new COVID-19 cases related to the Olympics on Tuesday, bringing the total since July 1 to 294.
‘Family give up’
On Tuesday, Yoshihide Suga met with the head of the national medical group and vowed to “protect people’s lives.”
Nakagawa said: “The nationwide infection is approaching our biggest crisis since the first wave last year.”
Some people worry that changes in hospital policies may lead to more deaths.
NHK Public Television quoted the leader of the opposition Cadet Party Yukio Edano as saying: “They call it treatment at home, but they actually give up treatment at home.”
Japan on Monday extended its state of emergency to three prefectures near Tokyo and Osaka prefecture in the west. The existing emergency in Tokyo — the fourth time since the pandemic began — and Okinawa will now last until August 31.
Unlike many countries that have adopted more stringent measures, Japan’s latest emergency measures are mainly focused on restaurants that require restaurants that provide alcoholic beverages to be closed and not closed before 8 pm
The country avoided a devastating outbreak of the virus. As of Monday, the total number of cases in the country was approximately 941,000 and the death toll was just over 15,000.
But it is now working to control the highly disseminated Delta variant, even as the public is increasingly tired of voluntary restrictions on activities and the delayed introduction of vaccinations.
Less than 30% of the population is fully vaccinated, and three-quarters of the population aged 65 and over are vaccinated.
Data from Tokyo shows that as of Sunday, nearly 70% of COVID-19 severely ill patients have full beds.
Sagara of Showa University Hospital said that there is a difference between theoretically usable beds and beds that can receive patients immediately.
“I think the latter is close to zero,” he said, adding that if infections continue to rise, hospitals will have to restrict surgery and other non-COVID-19 treatments.
He said: “We must avoid hosting the Olympics but the medical system collapses.” “Currently, the infection is spreading. If it soars further, (the Olympics) will be considered a failure.”
According to the guidelines of the Ministry of Health, critically ill patients are defined as patients who are admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU) or require artificial respirators.
According to the Tokyo Shimbun, 12,000 patients were quarantined at home, a 12-fold increase from the previous month.
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