Japan - Controvery: Only COVID-19 patients who are seriously ill and those at risk of becoming so will be hospitalized - August 4, 2021

[sharon sanders]

TOKYO: Japan's government was acting pre-emptively to ensure there are sufficient beds for seriously ill COVID-19 patients, its health minister said on Wednesday (Aug 4), warning infections have entered a "new phase" with a spike in Delta variant cases.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announced on Monday only COVID-19 patients who are seriously ill and those at risk of becoming so will be hospitalised, while others isolate at home, a shift in policy some fear may lead to an increase in deaths.

Health Minister Norihisa Tamura defended the policy shift, saying that by asking people with less serious symptoms to isolate at home, Japan can ensure it does not run out of hospital beds for people in need of intensive care.

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[sharon sanders]

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[Shiloh]

Source: https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/japan-covid-cases-delta-variant-1.6131843

Japan's COVID-19 cases hit 1 million as infections spread beyond Tokyo
Olympic host city reports 4,515 new cases on Friday
Thomson Reuters · Posted: Aug 06, 2021 6:11 AM ET | Last Updated: 4 hours ago

Japan reached one million coronavirus cases on Friday, domestic media reported, as infections soared in Olympic host Tokyo and other urban areas as the country struggled to contain the delta variant.

New cases in Tokyo hit 4,515, the second highest after Thursday's record 5,042, while the neighbouring, populous prefecture of Kanagawa saw its cases soaring to more than 2,000, quadrupling in less than two weeks.

Infections in Osaka, the biggest city in the country's west, also rose to a record-breaking 1,310.

The total number of cases since the pandemic began last year is now above one million, tarnishing the country's early success in containing the disease.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, however, struck a cautious tone on expanding a state of emergency to the entire country...

 

[Shiloh]

Source: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/08/11/national/coronavirus-cases-august-11/

COVID-19 tracker: Number of serious cases in Tokyo hits record high
Staff report, Jiji
Aug 11, 2021

Tokyo reported 4,200 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday as the number of severely ill COVID-19 patients under the capital’s criteria jumped by 21 to hit a record 197, surpassing the previous high of 176 marked the previous day.

Some government officials have said it will be impossible to lift the state of emergency in the end of this month as planned as a surge in new infections shows no sign of slowing.

The seven-day average of new infections in the capital came to 3,983.6, up from 3,478.7 a week before, according to the metropolitan government. The metropolitan government also reported two deaths linked to the virus...

 

[Shiloh]

Source: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2...o-reports-record-tally-new-coronavirus-cases/


COVID-19 tracker: Nationwide daily tally tops 20,000 for the first time
Aug 13, 2021

Japan's daily total of COVID-19 cases surpassed 20,000 on Friday, logging a record figure for the third straight day, while the number of patients with severe symptoms also hit a new high as concerns over a possible collapse of the country's medical system continue to mount.

Tokyo, just over a month into its fourth state of emergency, logged a record 5,773 new infections the same day, topping the previous high of 5,042 logged on Aug. 5, the metropolitan government said. The capital's seven-day rolling average of infections has risen to 4,155.7 per day, up 8.8% from the previous week.

The number of COVID-19 patients with severe symptoms across Japan rose to a record high 1,478 as of Thursday, surpassing the previous record of 1,413 logged in late May, the health ministry said.

Tokyo reported a record 227 patients with severe symptoms on Friday, topping the previous high of 218 logged a day earlier.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who called on the public to avoid traveling over the summer holidays, pledged to work with local governments to establish a system where people recuperating at home can be contacted.

"I believe that the medical system in Tokyo is in a dire situation. Under such circumstances, it is the greatest responsibility of the government to protect the lives of the people," he said at a press conference Friday...

 

[Shiloh]

Source: https://english.kyodonews.net/news/...-patients-in-japan-hits-record-high-1563.html

No. of severe COVID patients in Japan hits record for 3rd day in row
KYODO NEWS KYODO NEWS - 3 hours ago - 21:20 | All, Japan, Coronavirus

The number of coronavirus patients with severe symptoms across Japan totaled 1,563 as of Saturday, up 42 from the previous day and hitting a record high for the third straight day, the health ministry said Sunday.

In Tokyo, daily COVID-19 cases totaled 4,295 on Sunday, the metropolitan government said, as it continues to struggle with a strain on the medical system in the capital due to a resurgence of the virus.

The seven-day rolling average of infections in Tokyo has risen to 4,263.9 per day, up 5.6 percent from the previous week.

Across Japan, daily coronavirus infections totaled around 17,900, according to local authorities. The nationwide tally had reached record levels above 20,000 for two straight days through Saturday...

 

[Shiloh]

Source: https://www.saltwire.com/nova-scoti...ons-as-delta-variant-spreads-media-100624790/

Japanese regions see record COVID-19 infections as Delta variant spreads -media
Reuters | Posted: 4 hours ago | Updated: 2 hours ago | 2 Min Read

TOKYO (Reuters) - Record COVID-19 cases sprang up across Japan on Wednesday, media said a day after the government expanded emergency measures to fight a wave fuelled by the infectious Delta variant that has put the medical system under threat.

The western prefecture of Osaka reported a record 2,296 cases. Neighbouring Hyogo, the central prefecture of Aichi, and Fukuoka prefecture in the south all set records of more than 1,000 new infections, media said.

Tokyo's 5,386 daily cases were just off last Friday's all-time high.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga extended a state of emergency in the capital and other regions on Tuesday while expanding the measure to seven more prefectures, to counter a spike in cases...

 

[Shiloh]

Source: https://www.livemint.com/news/world...ay-from-japan-s-hospitals-11630031552814.html

Thousands of covid patients are being turned away from Japan’s hospitals
4 min read . Updated: 27 Aug 2021, 08:17 AM IST Bloomberg
The ambulance quandary has resulted in a handful of high-profile Covid deaths.

Japan’s worst Covid-19 outbreak yet has thrown a spotlight on the inability of the country’s otherwise highly regarded medical system to adapt quickly to emergencies and its lack of reform to meet such needs.

As new cases surged to more than 25,000 a day this month driven by the delta variant, the number of medical emergencies nationwide that required an ambulance dispatch, but had difficulty finding a hospital to accept the patient, rose for six straight weeks to a historic high, according to data from Japan’s Fire and Disaster Management Agency.

Defined as cases where emergency medics were turned down by more than 3 hospitals and at the scene for more than 30 minutes, the figure jumped to 3,361 in the week of August 9-15, said the agency that oversees the ambulance system nationally. The case number ticked down slightly last week, but was still the third-highest ever recorded in Japan. About half the patients were suspected of having Covid-19.

The ambulance quandary has resulted in a handful of high-profile Covid deaths, sparking a debate over the efficacy of what is widely recognized to be one of the world’s most successful health-care programs. While the Japanese system has nurtured the world’s longest-living citizens with preventative care, the pandemic has laid bare the long-standing dysfunction in emergency care, where private hospitals aren’t required to take in Covid patients and don’t coordinate with local governments and ambulance services.

The crisis has underscored how the best health-care systems in the world, especially in developed economies, are flailing under the pressure of the pandemic.

Many of Japan’s private hospitals are small and aren’t designed to deal with infectious diseases. Although the number of Covid beds has increased amid government funding support, the delta surge has pushed added capacity to the limit, while medical worker staffing is also an issue...