Japan limits hospitalization of COVID-19 patients to most serious as cases surge

Medical workers at Osaka Medical and Pharmaceutical University Hospital work in the operation wing of the hospital, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Takatsuki, Osaka prefecture, Japan May 17, 2021. REUTERS FILE PHOTO

TOKYO — Japan will shift policy to focus on
hospitalizing patients who are seriously ill with the COVID-19
and those at risk of becoming so, officials said, to avoid
strain on the medical system as cases surge in Olympics host
city Tokyo and elsewhere.

The country has seen a sharp increase in coronavirus cases,
and is recording more than 10,000 daily new infections
nationwide. Tokyo had a record high of 4,058 on Saturday,
exceeding 4,000 for the first time.

“We will secure the necessary beds for severely ill patients
and those at risk of becoming so,” Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga
said on Monday evening after a government task force meeting.

Other patients will be asked to stay at home, and the
government will ensure they can be hospitalized if their
condition worsened, Suga said. Previous policy had focused on
hospitalizing a broader category of high-risk patients.

Japan on Monday expanded its state of emergency to include
three prefectures near Tokyo and the western prefecture of
Osaka. An existing emergency in Tokyo – its fourth since the
pandemic began – and the southern island of Okinawa is now set
to last through Aug. 31.

The country has avoided a devastating outbreak of the virus,
with about 932,000 total cases and just over 15,000 deaths as of
Sunday.

But it is now struggling to contain the highly transmissible
Delta variant even as the public grows weary of mostly voluntary
limits on their activities and the vaccination rollout lags,
especially among younger residents.

Just under 30% of the population is fully vaccinated.

Nearly 70% of hospital beds for seriously-ill COVID-19
patients were filled as of Sunday, city data showed.