TOKYO, Aug 4 (NNN-NHK) – The Tokyo metropolitan government reported 3,709 new COVID-19 cases yesterday, with growing concern about shortages of hospital beds, prompting Prime Minister, Yoshihide Suga, to decide that only severe cases should be hospitalised, local media reported.
New COVID-19 cases in Tokyo dropped to 2,195 the previous day, after exceeding 3,000, five days in a row.
Tokyo’s seven-day rolling average of cases increased to a record 3,337.4 per day, rising 89.3 percent from the previous week.
Tokyo entered the fourth state of emergency on July 12. Although foot traffic in Tokyo’s downtown areas has reduced slightly, the surge in infections is hard to curb, amid the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant of the COVID-19.
Japan’s central government previously said, except for patients with mild coughing symptoms, all patients should be hospitalised in principle. However, with a policy U-turn on Monday, only patients with severe symptoms can be admitted to hospitals.
Patients with breathing problems or pneumonia could now be asked to recuperate at home. Some doctors criticised the decision as irresponsible because the sudden change of policy would result in increased deaths at home.
According to data from Japan’s health ministry, 84 people died from COVID-19 at home, during the six months through June.
Koji Wada, a professor at the International University of Health and Welfare, said, many have to recuperate at home, since the medical system is overwhelmed by surging infections, and when their health conditions deteriorate, measures should be taken to take care of them properly.
It is difficult for clinics to observe patients remotely in real time, due to insufficiencies of equipment or manpower, said Tomo Kimura, a doctor involved in home medical care, in the Tokyo metropolitan area.– NNN-NHK