Over 40 percent of COVID-19 deaths in Osaka linked to in-hospital infections in prefecture

May 25, 2020 | News On Japan

May 25, 2020 (Japan Times) - Over 40 percent of the coronavirus-linked deaths in Osaka involve hospital infections, sources in the prefectural government told Jiji Press on Saturday.

A total of 35 COVID-19 patients have died at five medical institutions in Osaka.

The fatality rate for those infected at those institutions, mostly seniors, is higher than the fatality rate for those in Osaka infected by community spread.

â€œMany patients of the new coronavirus exhibit no symptoms. Itâ€™s important that basic measures against nosocomial infections are taken thoroughly,â€ an expert said.

In Osaka, some 1,780 people have so far been infected. Of them, about 1,400 have left hospitals or completed treatment.

According to the prefectural government, group infections involving 284 people, including medical workers, have occurred at six hospitals. The 35 deaths logged at five of them account for 44.9 percent of the virus-linked deaths in the prefecture, which total 78.

The fatality rate for patients at hospitals hit by cluster infections topped 10 percent, apparently because many who contracted the virus were elderly and those with underlying illnesses.

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