The death toll reached approximately 5,000 following the confirmation of the country’s first case of coronavirus. But it only took 3 months to reach this double figure. During this period, the virus hit older people hard. More than 66% of those affected were people over 80 years of age or older; 23% in the 1970s; And a little more than 7% were sixty years old.
But Takeda Shinhiro, the head of a medical group that studies coronavirus patient care, says the situation is changing and that young people should be cautious.
“Now, the variants are affecting the patients aged 50 and less,” he says. “They expand serious symptoms more than with the initial tension. “
The number of patients in serious condition is also increasing, especially in the Kansai region. In Osaka prefecture, another 306 people were in serious condition on Tuesday. Only 330 beds have been designated for such cases in the entire prefecture.
Medical workers are increasingly worried that people may die while waiting to be accepted into a hospital.
“There just aren’t enough beds available in Osaka,” says Yamato Masaya, a doctor at Rinku General Medical Center. “The rotation is so fast. Almost as soon as a bed opens up, we get a call from an ambulance asking whether we can accept a patient.”
The hospital has been hit hard by a variant in the UK. An investigation discovered the strain in 36 of 37 samples taken from patients.
Yamato worries that the death toll is the best in Kansai, where he says, “The medical formula is failing. “
The central government declared a third state of emergency on Sunday and the restrictions this time are tougher than the previous measure.
The current declaration will last for 17 days, through May 11. But it could be extended, as was the case for the previous two measures. The first declaration continued for an extra 20 days in Tokyo, the second for an additional month and a half.
“The government’s panel of experts says thorough implementation will lead to good results,” minister in charge of coronavirus issues, Nishimura Yasutoshi said during a Sunday news program on NHK.
But some experts worry that two weeks is enough.
Nakagawa Toshio, president of the Japanese medical association, claimed that the government had prematurely ended the previous state of emergency, while the scenario is still in the third tier of a four-tier crisis assessment formula, which has led to an increase in the number of existing cases. of cases.
“This time we have to wait for the step,” he said.