Governor Kuroiwa of Kanagawa Prefecture told medical institutions in the prefecture that he is accepting patients with the new corona, saying that the rapid spread of the new coronavirus may cause the number of beds to accept inpatients to run short next month. He revealed that he requested that the less urgent surgery be postponed for about a month.
In mid-November last year, Kanagawa Prefecture requested medical institutions to increase the number of beds in the prefecture from 650 to 1100, which can immediately accept patients with the new corona, but the number of beds that could be secured was only 830, and the usage rate was high. Exceeded 80% for the first time on the 4th.
Governor Kuroiwa said at a press conference on the 5th that if the infection continues to spread at this pace, the number of patients requiring hospitalization will exceed the number of beds by around the 6th of next month.
He also made it clear that he requested the hospitals accepting patients with the new corona to postpone hospitalization and surgery that doctors decided could be postponed for about a month.
Governor Kuroiwa said, "It may cause inconvenience to the citizens of the prefecture, but I want them to understand it because it is a necessary measure to protect the lives of the citizens of the prefecture and medical care in the area."
In addition, regarding the response when a state of emergency is issued, he said, "I want to work on preventing infection in places where there is a high risk of infection and strengthening telework in a short period of time, intensively, and in a limited manner." He said he was not thinking of expanding the request for shortening to a wide range of industries.