Doctor: What happened in NY could happen in Tokyo

Apr 12 (NHK) - A doctor in the United States has warned what happened in New York could happen in Tokyo.

Professor Robert Yanagisawa at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City issued the warning in an interview with NHK. Yanagisawa also serves as the head of the Japanese Medical Society of America.

He said medical institutions in New York have filled all vacant space with beds for patients and postponed non-urgent operations in response to the surge in coronavirus cases, affecting those suffering from other diseases.

Yanagisawa also said that medical professionals, such as doctors and nurses, are managing to keep the hospitals functioning but just barely.

Yanagisawa compared the situation in New York in early March to the current situation in Tokyo.

He said what happened in New York could happen in Tokyo as the two cities have similarities in terms of people's behavior and population density.

The Tokyo metropolitan government has begun to transfer coronavirus patients with mild or no symptoms to a hotel to vacate hospital beds.

Yanagisawa said that the government needs to prepare a manual for hotel staff to prevent them from contracting the virus and introduce a video system to monitor patients online.

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