Feb 16 (NHK) - Some municipalities in Japan have reported delays in deliveries of food and other supplies for people recuperating at home after being infected with the coronavirus.
The health ministry says more than 543,000 people are recuperating at home, as of February 9, up over 100,000 from the previous week.
Prefectural governments are providing food and water upon requests from COVID-19 patients at home. But some prefectures, including Tokyo, Saitama and Osaka, say there have been delays in deliveries due to a rapid increase in the number of the patients.
In Tokyo, officials said supplies are usually sent out by the following day after they receive the requests.
But they said they have received as many as 9,700 requests in one day, and that on such days, it could take more than a couple of days for the supplies to reach homes.
Officials in Saitama said deliveries take as much as one week after receiving requests. Osaka officials said deliveries are taking time due to delays in registering the infected people.
Many municipalities cited difficulties in securing enough food supplies and excess workload for transportation companies as reasons for delays.
