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The government has shifted from focusing on prevention to prioritising the treatment of the seriously ill, in a context of pressure on the health system.
Japan’s long-awaited summer festival season has been hampered by a surge in COVID-19 cases that has broken records for daily infections since the start of the pandemic. This is the first summer in three years that Japan has not experienced a state of emergency restrictions or COVID-19. As last month’s delayed heat wave subsides, an unprecedented “seventh wave” of COVID-19 is once again raising considerations about the fitness formula and emergency in parts of the country.
The highly transmissible BA. 5 and BA. 2 subvariants of the Omicron strain of the virus, increased public gatherings, and waning immunity are some of the points of the recent surge in infections. Over the weekend, the daily number of infections in Tokyo surpassed 30,000 cases. Experts warn that daily infections in Tokyo could reach just 50,000 cases during the first part of August.
The occupancy rate of hospital beds in the Japanese capital exceeds 40%, while in Okinawa 60% of designated COVID-19 beds are occupied. The Okinawa Prefectural Medical Association states that “the medical formula is on the verge of collapse. “”
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government strives to protect and coordinate medical resources for critically ill and high-risk patients amid emerging infections. Tokyo Governor Koike Yuriko announced that the most sensible priority was to save lives. The city government will focus on “securing hospital beds, offering overnight care and home visits,” the governor said. Koike said hospitals would make “rapid changes in place. “Patients who have recovered will be discharged without delay and transferred out of the hospital to make room for new patients whose mild symptoms have deteriorated. overnight.
In Tokyo, authorities are seeking to prevent a repeat of last summer’s deadly outbreak driven by the Delta variant, where some 200 patients originally reporting moderate to no symptoms were found dead at home after their condition deteriorated overnight. Public health centers were inundated with cases and were unable to conduct proper health observation visits, triggering widespread public fury. Hospitals also came under fierce backlash for rejecting COVID-19 patients arriving in ambulances.
A year later, the local government developed the “Tokyo Rule” formula in which a designated “central” hospital in the region will locate a hospital to transfer a patient to in an emergency if an ambulance has been turned away for five or more hospitals. The policy is already implemented in approximately 3,000 cases each day.
There are growing fears that the peak of infection has not yet been reached. Last week, Tokyo Medical Association Vice President Masataka Inoguchi expressed a sense of crisis, warning that “infections are spreading among medical staff and possibly there will be cases where wards are closed. “and emergency patient admissions are reduced at several facilities. ” The lack of medical staff, as well as drivers to send nurses for home visits, also adds to the pressure on the system.
As COVID-19 hits the general population, the number of severe cases is also expected to increase. Tokyo’s municipal government has asked medical services to convert general hospital beds back into designated beds for the coronavirus, expanding the number of available beds from 5,000 to 7,000. Despite those measures, medical staff have reported that hospitals are overflowing with high-risk and critically ill patients. Wait times at COVID-19 testing centers have also skyrocketed, creating a phenomenon called “vetted refugees” — other people who can’t locate clinics that perform antigen tests. In response, the Tokyo municipal government announced the distribution of free diagnostic tests to more than two hundred hospitals and medical clinics in need.
The central government is reluctant to re-impose COVID-19 restrictions, but Health Minister Goto Shigeyuki said the government “may resort to effective and powerful measures, including restricting people’s movement if hospital occupancy rates approach capacity.” Currently, infection controls are at the discretion of businesses and schools.
In an effort to maintain social and economic activities, the central government has shortened the official self-isolation period for those who have been exposed to coronavirus from seven days to three days with a negative antigen test.
The majority of positive cases are among people in their 20s followed by people in their 50s and 60s. But the number of children who are being hospitalized for suspected heat stroke and testing positive for COVID-19 is also on the rise. Currently people under 20 account for 30 percent of positive infections.
At this time, older adults, high-risk audiences, and healthcare professionals are eligible for the fourth dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
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Japan’s long-awaited summer festival season has been dampened by an explosion of COVID-19 cases that has shattered records for the daily infection tally since the onset of the pandemic. This is the first summer in three years in which Japan has not had a COVID-19 state of emergency or restrictions. As the heatwave from late last month subsides, an unprecedented “seventh wave” of COVID-19 is once again raising concerns about the healthcare system and emergency services in parts of the country.
The highly transmissible BA.5 and BA.2 subvariants of the Omicron strain of the virus, an increase in public gatherings, and waning immunity are some of the factors behind the recent surge in infections. Over the weekend, Tokyo’s daily infection count surpassed 30,000 cases. Experts warn that daily infections in Tokyo could skyrocket to as high as 50,000 cases by the first half of August.
The hospital bed occupancy rate in Japan’s capital is over 40 percent while in Okinawa 60 percent of COVID-19 designated beds have been filled. The Okinawa prefectural medical association stressed that the “medical system was on the verge of collapse.”
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government strives to protect and coordinate medical resources for critically ill and high-risk patients amid emerging infections. Tokyo Governor Koike Yuriko announced that the most sensible priority was to save lives. The city government will focus on “securing hospital beds, offering overnight care and home visits,” the governor said. Koike said hospitals would make “rapid changes in place. “Patients who have recovered will be discharged without delay and transferred out of the hospital to make room for new patients whose mild symptoms have deteriorated. overnight.
In Tokyo, the government is trying to avoid a repeat of last summer’s fatal outbreak caused by the Delta variant, where about 200 patients who initially reported moderate or no symptoms were found dead at home after their condition worsened. or deteriorated overnight. Public gyms have been inundated with cases and have been unable to conduct proper fitness visits, leading to widespread public anger. Hospitals have also faced intense backlash for turning away COVID-19 patients arriving in ambulances.
One year on, the local government has devised the “Tokyo rule” system in which a designated “core” hospital in the region will find a hospital to transport an emergency patient to if an ambulance has been rejected from five or more hospitals. The policy is already being applied to approximately 3,000 cases each day.
There are growing fears that the peak of infection has not yet been reached. Last week, Tokyo Medical Association Vice President Masataka Inoguchi expressed a sense of crisis, warning that “infections are spreading among medical staff and possibly there will be cases where wards are closed. “and emergency patient admissions are reduced at several facilities. ” The lack of medical staff, as well as drivers to send nurses for home visits, also adds to the pressure on the system.
As COVID-19 hits the general population, the number of severe cases is also expected to increase. Tokyo’s municipal government has asked medical services to convert general hospital beds back into designated beds for the coronavirus, expanding the number of available beds from 5,000 to 7,000. Despite those measures, medical staff have reported that hospitals are overflowing with high-risk and critically ill patients. Wait times at COVID-19 testing centers have also skyrocketed, creating a phenomenon called “vetted refugees” — other people who can’t locate clinics that perform antigen tests. In response, the Tokyo municipal government announced the distribution of free diagnostic tests to more than two hundred hospitals and medical clinics in need.
The central government is reluctant to reimpose COVID-19 restrictions, but Health Minister Goto Shigeyuki said the government “could adopt effective and tough measures, adding restricting the movement of other people if hospital occupancy rates reach capacity. “the discretion of companies and schools.
In a push for social and economic activities, the central government has shortened the official self-isolation period for those who have been exposed to the coronavirus from seven days to three days with a negative antigen test.
Most positive cases are in people in their twenties, followed by others in their fifties and sixties. But the number of young people hospitalized with suspected heat stroke testing positive for COVID-19 is also rising. The 20-year-olds account for 30% of positive infections.
At this point, seniors, high-risk audiences, and fitness professionals are eligible for the fourth dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Japan’s long-awaited summer festival season has been hampered by a surge in COVID-19 cases that has broken records for daily infections since the start of the pandemic. This is the first summer in three years in which Japan has not experienced a state of emergency or COVID-19 restrictions. As last month’s overdue heat wave subsides, an unprecedented “seventh wave” of COVID-19 is once again raising fitness formula and emergency considerations in parts of the country.
The highly transmissible BA. 5 and BA. 2 subvariants of the Omicron strain of the virus, increased public gatherings, and waning immunity are some of the points of the recent surge in infections. Over the weekend, the daily number of infections in Tokyo surpassed 30,000 cases. Experts warn that daily infections in Tokyo could reach just 50,000 cases during the first part of August.
Thisanka Siripala is an Australian-Sri Lankan multi-platform journalist based in Tokyo.