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| Coronavirus PCR testing is carried out outside a prefabricated hut of Saitama Cooperative Hospital in Kawaguchi in Saitama Prefecture, near Tokyo, on Jan. 24, 2022. (Photo by=Kyodo) |
[Asia News = Reporter Reakkana] TOKYO: The surge in people infected with the coronavirus amid the spread of the highly contagious Omicron variant is causing apprehension at outpatient clinics, generally the first stop for individuals in Japan to check if they have the virus, Kyodo reported.
Doctors say they are stretched almost to breaking point and that seeing more patients has become increasingly difficult. Japan reported a record 62,610 new infections on Tuesday, topping 60,000 for the first time. Japan's health ministry said Monday young people with a low risk of severe COVID-19 symptoms can recuperate at home instead of going to hospitals in regions where medical systems are expected to be strained. The move is intended to ease pressure on health care institutions and avoid the possibility of older people who are at a higher risk of severe illness being left untreated.
One apprehensive institution is the Saitama Cooperative Hospital in Kawaguchi near Tokyo. On Monday, around 30 people waited to be checked at a hospital restaurant that has been turned into an additional waiting area to deal with the overflow of outpatients. Many of them were young people who came with other family members. They wrote down their symptoms on medical forms as they waited, answering such questions as whether they had a fever, cough or shortness of breath. Occasionally coughs could be heard.
