Medical system overwhelmed on Miyakojima

The small island in southern Japan confirmed a record 35 new cases on Thursday. It was the third straight day that the tally topped 30 on the island with a population of about 55,000.

On Friday, the prefecture asked the Ground Self-Defense Force to dispatch medical staff to the island until February 13. It wants GSDF nurses to help at an elderly care home where an infection cluster broke out.

The prefecture-run Miyako Hospital is scrambling to respond to those infected with the virus. It has stopped accepting all other outpatients. All 44 beds set aside for COVID-19 patients were occupied as of Thursday.

Okinawa Prefecture has sent doctors and nurses to offer assistance. They include Dr. Shiiki Soichi, who specializes in infectious diseases.

Shiiki told NHK on Friday that the coronavirus ward at Miyako Hospital is about to be inundated with patients, and the staff are trying to cope with the situation by using beds in other wards.

He said the situation has become critical, requiring all energy to be focused on COVID-19 even if it means sidelining regular medical care.

Shiiki said staff are being forced to ration equipment to monitor patients' conditions, because there is not enough equipment for elderly people with severe symptoms.

He added the community-wide system must be bolstered so that clinics and a local medical association can handle PCR tests and monitor people recuperating at home.

Sadoyama Masaki is a resident of the island. His 4-year-old son, Ramon, usually visits Miyako Hospital about once a month for follow-up checks for the oral surgery he had received when he was one.

Sadoyama says he was told by the hospital that Ramon's next appointment on February 12 may need to be cancelled.

Sadoyama says it's been a great relief just to hear the doctor describe his son's condition as good, and not having the chance to hear it makes him terribly worried.

He says he wants the hospital to at least partially restart its regular outpatient care.