Okinawa Prefecture has set up a facility to temporarily wait for patients who need to be hospitalized but cannot be accepted, as the medical system is tightened due to the spread of the new coronavirus infection.
In Okinawa Prefecture, where the worst infection situation continues in Japan, the medical system is tight, with the bed usage rate for patients infected with the new coronavirus reaching 89.9% as of the 11th.
Under these circumstances, the prefecture opened a "hospitalization waiting station" at the gymnasium on the main island of Okinawa on the 12th, where patients who need to be hospitalized but cannot be accepted are temporarily on standby.
The facility is equipped with 20 beds and 10 medical devices that administer oxygen, and one doctor, two nurses, and two paramedics are on duty 24 hours a day.
According to the prefecture, there has never been a case where the hospitalization destination was not decided for more than an hour, but if the medical system becomes tighter in the future, such a situation may occur.
Hiroki Kakazu, chief of the Okinawa Prefectural Infectious Disease Control Division, said, "The number of patients has increased dramatically, and it is not possible to accept all patients at medical institutions. That's not to say, but I think the patients will be relieved because there are medical staff who are accustomed to the emergency scene. "