Dec 05 (Japan Times) - Hospital beds available for COVID-19 patients with severe symptoms are filling up quickly in Osaka Prefecture, with occupancy topping 60%, raising fears that doctors won’t be able to treat coronavirus patients as well as those with other diseases if the figure continues to rise.
As of Thursday, 66% of beds available for severe coronavirus patients were occupied, with the figure expected to rise to 70% by early next week, forcing Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura on Thursday to raise its virus alert level to red. Yoshimura also asked residents to refrain from nonessential outings for 12 days from Friday.
“Unless we clamp down on all infections, we won’t see a decrease in the number of serious cases. Now is the time to concentrate on putting a brake on the spread. A quick response is needed in order to minimize damage to society and the economy,†Yoshimura said Friday.
Yoshimura spoke to Yasutoshi Nishimura, the minister leading the nation’s coronavirus response, on Friday morning about the prefecture’s measures. Nishimura said the national government is concerned about the strain the medical system is under and is prepared to offer its support.
Under Osaka’s model for dealing with the coronavirus, the governor can raise the threat level to red and declare a state of emergency when 70% of available beds for patients with severe symptoms are occupied.
How effective the state of emergency will be in reducing the number of cases in Osaka is uncertain. Yoshimura did not explain what activities would be considered nonessential travel, saying he was leaving that decision to individual residents.
Surrounding prefectures are also worried about Osaka’s situation. In Hyogo Prefecture, where many people commute to Osaka, hospital beds for COVID-19 patients were 65% occupied as of Tuesday, although only 31% of the beds were occupied by serious cases.
