Jul 21 (NHK) - A recent survey shows university hospitals across Japan are losing revenue significantly amid the coronavirus outbreak.
The survey shows revenues at university hospitals for May dropped 16 percent from a year earlier, as people apparently refrained from visiting hospitals to reduce the risk of infection.
The National Associate of Japan Medical Colleges council sent questionnaires to 136 university hospitals asking how the outbreak is affecting their businesses.
The survey results show the number of outpatients they treated in May fell 27 percent year on year. The number of new patients was down 45 percent.
The outbreak also forced many hospitals to postpone surgeries. The number of operations in May declined 30 percent year on year.
Such circumstances have put the hospitals in financial difficulties. In particular, revenues dropped 21 percent for those in Tokyo, Osaka and six other prefectures hard hit by the outbreak.
The council is urging the central government to promptly implement its second supplementary budget that will include assistance to support medical institutions.
Yuzawa Yukio, the director of Fujita Health University Hospital, says the coronavirus outbreak is overloading other advanced medical services at hospitals. He hopes financial support will be swiftly delivered to all medical institutions, saying that their own efforts are limited.
