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July 30, 2022 at 17:21 JST
THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
Hospitals and public health centers are so inundated with COVID-19 patients that they should be relieved of the burden of reporting new cases to the government on a daily basis as the task takes up precious resources, according to a proposal by mayors and governors from around Japan.
The development came as cases continue to skyrocket across the country in the face of a seventh wave of the pandemic.
The number of patients recuperating at home exceeded 1.1 million as of July 27, a record high, according to health ministry data released two days later.
The total number of patients, including those who are hospitalized or staying at designated facilities, numbered around 1.4 million, the ministry said.
Health experts advising the ministry on the crisis warned that the number of patients with severe symptoms is bound to increase from now on, with a corresponding rise in fatalities.
... “If infections continue to spread at this pace, we will not be able to protect people’s lives and health,” the mayors association said.
... Chiba Governor Toshihito Kumagai said the prefecture close to Tokyo has implemented a system in which people can register themselves online as a COVID-19 patient without going to a clinic or hospital.
Kumagai called for the current system of daily counts to be simplified and said the focus should shift from counting the total number of patients to making a fixed-point observation at designated locations in the future.
Tottori Governor Shinji Hirai told a July 29 news conference, “If we keep spending resources of the medial and health system for reporting the number of cases, we will not be able to save lives that can be saved.”
THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
Hospitals and public health centers are so inundated with COVID-19 patients that they should be relieved of the burden of reporting new cases to the government on a daily basis as the task takes up precious resources, according to a proposal by mayors and governors from around Japan.
The development came as cases continue to skyrocket across the country in the face of a seventh wave of the pandemic.
The number of patients recuperating at home exceeded 1.1 million as of July 27, a record high, according to health ministry data released two days later.
The total number of patients, including those who are hospitalized or staying at designated facilities, numbered around 1.4 million, the ministry said.
Health experts advising the ministry on the crisis warned that the number of patients with severe symptoms is bound to increase from now on, with a corresponding rise in fatalities.
... “If infections continue to spread at this pace, we will not be able to protect people’s lives and health,” the mayors association said.
... Chiba Governor Toshihito Kumagai said the prefecture close to Tokyo has implemented a system in which people can register themselves online as a COVID-19 patient without going to a clinic or hospital.
Kumagai called for the current system of daily counts to be simplified and said the focus should shift from counting the total number of patients to making a fixed-point observation at designated locations in the future.
Tottori Governor Shinji Hirai told a July 29 news conference, “If we keep spending resources of the medial and health system for reporting the number of cases, we will not be able to save lives that can be saved.”