[Japon] Access denied: Virus third wave forces hand of Japan’s medical system

Auteur : Tomohiro Osaki. Staff writer de The Japan Times.

Production : The Japan Times

Diffusion : site de The Japan Times

Date : 19 janvier 2021

In early January, a Tokyo man in his 80s with diabetes tested positive for COVID-19. He soon started to have difficulty breathing. But with hospital beds filling up fast, public health authorities couldn’t immediately place him under medical care. Then he showed moderate signs of recovery, which emboldened officials to decide that he could, after all, remain at home to recuperate — despite the capital’s guidelines saying that those age 70 or older with an underlying condition should in principle be hospitalized.

Source : Tomohiro Osaki, « Access denied: Virus third wave forces hand of Japan’s medical system », The Japan Times, 19/01/2021. URL : https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/01/19/national/japan-coronavirus-hospitals-medical-system/#page (consulté le 20/01/2021)

Photo « à la une » : A hotel lobby used as medical accommodation for COVID-19 patients is filled with messages in Osaka on Dec. 31. © Kyodo