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The home isolation policy aims to ensure that critically ill patients receive hospital care.
The Japanese government is introducing a contentious new policy under which coronavirus patients with moderate symptoms will isolate at home rather than in hospital, as new cases in Tokyo rise to record levels at the Olympics.
Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide’s plan to reserve hospital beds almost exclusively for others with severe symptoms or at risk of severe symptoms is a fundamental policy shift, as new cases in the capital have more than tripled since the Olympics began on July 23.
Tokyo reported 4,166 new cases on Wednesday, an all-time high since the pandemic began early last year. Nationwide, Japan recorded 12,076 cases on Tuesday, for a total of 956,407, totaling more than 15,000 deaths.
The new policy, introduced this week, was debated in parliament on Wednesday. The opposition, as well as some ruling party lawmakers and experts, have said the lives of other people isolated at home without proper care would be at risk.
Suga, who has been criticized for insisting on hosting the Olympics despite public virus fears, says there is no evidence linking the upsurge in cases to the Games.
He said the home isolation policy is meant to ensure that hospital care is available for seriously ill patients, and that the new plan is only for areas where hospitals are severely strained.
Infections, driven by the more contagious Delta variant, could rise to as high as 10,000 a day in Tokyo alone through mid-August, according to some experts. They called for the existing state of emergency in Tokyo and five other regions to be extended throughout the country. The emergency measures, which focus on the prohibition of alcohol and the reduction of restaurant opening hours, are ignored by the population, tired of the restrictions.
Public broadcaster NHK and other media outlets reported that Suga is expected to expand a softer edition of emergency measures in thirteen prefectures.
“The pandemic has now entered a new phase,” Health Minister Tamura Norihisa said in parliament. “Hospital capacity is limited.”
He defended the stay-at-home policy as mandatory for a medical emergency, similar to what happened in April in Osaka, when thousands of people became sicker and some died at home while waiting for a hospital bed.
Tamura, cautioning against a repeat of that situation, urged people to avoid all non-essential outings to slow infections.
In Tokyo, more than 14,000 patients with mild symptoms have recently been isolated at home (a tenfold increase from a month ago) and around 8,400 more are waiting for a bed in special hospitals or hotels.
Opposition lawmakers have criticized Suga for failing to sufficiently expand hospital capacity despite warnings about the fast-spreading Delta variant. In Japan, the coronavirus remedy is limited to public and university hospitals with sufficient services and expertise.
“Lives that can be stored will be lost,” said Yamanoi Kazunori, a lawmaker from Japan’s opposition Constitutional Democratic Party, calling the isolation of his home “abandonment. “
Dr. Omi Shigeru, the government’s top medical adviser, said patients at risk of developing serious symptoms while staying at home will need to be given proper support by community physicians who make household visits.
Japan has managed to keep the number of cases and deaths below much of the world, but testing is still inadequate and Tokyo’s positivity rate stands at 20%, indicating widespread infections. Its seven-day rolling average is 8. 3 cases per 100,000 people. with 2. 9 in India, 6. 5 in the Philippines and 27. 3 in the United States, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Suga said vaccinating the elderly has especially reduced infections and plans to speed up the vaccination of younger people and vaccinate 40 percent of the entire population by the end of August.
Experts say higher vaccination rates are needed to combat the outbreak.
Despite a delayed start, vaccination resumed in May and 31. 5% of the population is now fully vaccinated.
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The Japanese government is introducing a contentious new policy under which coronavirus patients with moderate symptoms will isolate at home rather than in hospital, as new cases in Tokyo rise to record levels at the Olympics.
Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide’s plan, which aims to save hospital beds almost exclusively for those with serious symptoms or at risk of developing them, is a major policy shift as new cases in the capital have more than tripled since the Olympics began on July 23.
Tokyo reported 4,166 new cases on Wednesday, an all-time high since the pandemic began early last year. Nationwide, Japan recorded 12,076 cases on Tuesday, for a total of 956,407, totaling more than 15,000 deaths.
The new policy, introduced this week, was debated in parliament on Wednesday. The opposition, as well as some ruling party lawmakers and experts, have said the lives of others isolated in their homes without proper care would be at risk.
Suga, who has been criticized for insisting on hosting the Olympics despite public virus fears, says there is no evidence linking the upsurge in cases to the Games.
He said the home isolation policy is meant to ensure that hospital care is available for seriously ill patients, and that the new plan is only for areas where hospitals are severely strained.
Infections, driven by the more contagious Delta variant, could rise to as high as 10,000 a day in Tokyo alone through mid-August, some experts say. They called for the existing state of emergency in Tokyo and five other regions to be extended throughout the country. The emergency measures, which focus on the prohibition of alcohol and the reduction of restaurant opening hours, are ignored by the population, fed up with the restrictions.
Public broadcaster NHK and other media outlets reported that Suga is expected to expand a softer edition of emergency measures in thirteen prefectures.
“The pandemic has now entered a new phase,” Health Minister Tamura Norihisa said in parliament. “Hospital capacity is limited.”
He defended the home isolation policy as necessary to prevent a medical collapse similar to what happened in April in Osaka, when thousands of people became sicker and some died at home while waiting for hospital beds.
Tamura, cautious of a repeat of this situation, recommended that the population carry out all non-essential outings to curb contagion.
In Tokyo, more than 14,000 patients with mild symptoms are currently isolated at home (a tenfold increase from a month ago) and around 8,400 more are waiting for a bed in hospitals or special hotels.
Opposition lawmakers criticized Suga for not increasing hospital capacity sufficiently despite warnings about the fast-spreading Delta variant. Coronavirus treatment in Japan is limited to public and university hospitals that have adequate facilities and expertise.
“Lives that can be stored will be lost,” said Yamanoi Kazunori, a lawmaker from Japan’s opposition Constitutional Democratic Party, calling the isolation of his home “abandonment. “
Dr. Omi Shigeru, the government’s chief medical adviser, said patients who are at risk of severe symptoms when they stay at home will need help from in-network doctors who make home visits.
Japan has managed to keep the number of cases and deaths below much of the world, but testing is still inadequate and Tokyo’s positivity rate stands at 20%, indicating widespread infections. Its seven-day rolling average is 8. 3 cases per 100,000 people. with 2. 9 in India, 6. 5 in the Philippines and 27. 3 in the United States, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Suga said vaccinating the elderly has especially reduced infections and plans to speed up the vaccination of younger people and vaccinate 40 percent of the entire population by the end of August.
Experts say higher vaccination rates are needed to combat the outbreak.
Despite a delayed start, vaccination resumed in May and 31. 5% of the population is now fully vaccinated.
The Japanese government is introducing a contentious new policy under which coronavirus patients with moderate symptoms will isolate at home rather than in hospital, as new cases in Tokyo rise to record levels at the Olympics.
Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide’s plan to reserve hospital beds almost exclusively for others with severe symptoms or at risk of severe symptoms is a fundamental policy shift, as new cases in the capital have more than tripled since the Olympics began on July 23.