With the shortage of "oxygen concentrators" for administering oxygen to patients with the new coronavirus, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has decided to secure up to 500 units each month and rent them out to prefectures.
Oxygen concentrators inhale oxygen through a tube through the nose or mouth and are used by people who are undergoing medical treatment at home or who are waiting to be hospitalized at a temporary reception facility, but the infection has continued to spread. Therefore, there is a national shortage.
Under these circumstances, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has decided to secure a maximum of 500 units every month from this month in coordination with the manufacturer and rent them out to prefectures free of charge.
For the time being, the number of prefectures that are subject to priority measures such as state of emergency and prevention of spread will be required when newly developing hospitalization waiting stations that temporarily accept patients and accommodation facilities that administer oxygen. It is a policy to lend out.
In addition, we will start renting out the amount required for doctors to visit patients who are undergoing medical treatment at home from next month.
According to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, "We want to spread oxygen concentrators to people and regions that need them in preparation for the spread of infection in the future. We are also requesting manufacturers to increase production."