Apr 23 (tokyoreporter.com) - OSAKA (TR) – A man in Osaka City who tested positive for the novel coronavirus was forced to wait inside an ambulance for a day and a half before being accepted by a hospital.
The man’s condition has deteriorated to the point where he is now experiencing severe symptoms of the disease COVID-19, medical sources have revealed, reports the Yomiuri Shimbun (April 23).
According to the sources, the man requested an ambulance from the Osaka Municipal Fire Department on Tuesday morning.
Emergency personnel then used a coordination center for Osaka Prefecture to locate a hospital that would admit him. However, he was rejected one after another. “We have no room,” one hospital said.
The following day, emergency personnel in the ambulance changed and the search continued. During the ordeal, the personnel administered oxygen to the man.
The personnel finally found a hospital that would accept him outside Osaka City. The man was admitted at 5:00 p.m.
With him experiencing difficulties breathing and his blood oxygen level still low, he is on a respirator.
An Osaka City man who tested positive for the coronavirus was turned away by multiple hospitals earlier this week
State of emergency
As of Thursday, hospital bed occupancy within the prefecture was 82.5 percent. Meanwhile, 9,202 patients are recuperating at home.
Like the aforementioned man, there have been repeated cases where people recuperating at home were unable to find hospitals to accept them after their conditions worsened.
The number of persons testing positive in the prefecture has been trending up over the past month.
Local media reported this week that the government of Japan is expected to declare a state of emergency for Osaka and Tokyo, which has also seen a surge in cases, between Sunday and May 11.
