The number of new coronavirus infections confirmed on the 27th was 209,694, the highest number ever.
The effects of the spread of infection are beginning to spread to places close to our lives, such as the suspension of post office counter operations.
Post office Infection spreads and window operations are suspended one after another
According to Japan Post, as of the 26th, there are 170 post offices nationwide that are out of service due to employees being infected with the new corona or becoming close contacts.
The number of post offices that will be closed from the middle of this month is increasing.
Most of them are small post offices with a few employees, and in addition to the counters, ATMs (automated teller machines) are often out of service, and the timing for resuming business is undecided.
According to the company, if an employee becomes infected, we take measures such as dispatching support personnel from a nearby post office, but depending on the location, it is not possible to manage the staff and the counter work becomes impossible. It means that there is.
On the other hand, Japan Post says that it has no effect on delivery operations such as mail and Yu-Pack.
The company is encouraging users to use nearby post offices on paper and websites, and the impact of the spread of infection is affecting postal services, which are responsible for social infrastructure.
Public baths are also open in a short time
Public baths in Tokyo are also forced to shorten their business hours.
At the public bath "Kaiei-yu" in Taito-ku, Tokyo, on the 18th of this month, employees on vacation were judged to be positive for the new coronavirus.
The owner, Yohei Okina, was also temporarily closed on the 20th to undergo a PCR test because he was suspected of being a close contact.
The result was negative and there was no change in physical condition, so business resumed on the 21st, but the infected employee was a valuable person who worked almost full-time, so there was not enough manpower, and business hours on weekdays were 2 hours. It is shortened.
For now, it means that it will return to normal business hours on the 30th.
Since Kaiei-yu has been in business for over 70 years and its facilities have deteriorated, it has been completely renovated by spending more than 200 million yen, but the number of customers is not growing as expected due to the Korona-ka. is.
As a result, we are concerned that further infections among employees and the continued spread of infections could have a significant impact on management.
Mr. Okina said, "Sento has a role to maintain public health as a saucer for elderly people in the area and those who do not have a bath at home. I want to keep the business as stable as possible."
Time to see / test ... Many “test refugees”
As the infection spreads rapidly, it is taking a long time for patients to see a doctor or undergo a PCR test due to the tightness of medical institutions.
Ikuo Yamada (55), who lives in Chiba prefecture, felt sore throat and dullness on the 15th of this month, and had a fever of 39 degrees the next day.
My 90-year-old father also complained of headaches and fever when he was thinking of seeing a doctor at the beginning of the week because his clinic was closed on weekends.
For this reason, I called about 5 medical institutions in Tokyo on the 18th of the week, but all of them were refused to be filled with reservations, and I could not make a reservation even if I called again the next morning. It was.
After that, I continued to make phone calls, and on the evening of the 19th, I was able to visit a home clinic in Shinagawa Ward, where I was able to see a doctor and have a PCR test with her father.
It was the fifth day since her own onset.
The two were diagnosed with corona infection the following day, and their father was prescribed medication.
Mr. Yamada said, "I went to see the doctor immediately when the symptoms appeared, and it was too late if I couldn't get the test. Especially the elderly people were very worried because they didn't know when it would get worse." ..
Clinic doctors point out that more patients may worsen their symptoms if it takes longer to see and test, and that medications recommended to be taken within 5 days of onset may not be prescribed in time. increase.
Kazuma Tashiro, director of "Hinata Zaitaku Clinic Sanno," said, "In the 7th wave, the number of" examination refugees "is far higher, and many patients are spending their time at home while being anxious without being connected to medical institutions or health centers. The diagnosis is delayed because it cannot be done, and the condition worsens without taking medicine. A negative spiral that it takes time to be hospitalized is beginning to occur. "
First-aid transportation in Tokyo Beyond the 6th wave peak
According to the Tokyo Fire Department, an infection has been confirmed in Tokyo, and a total of 725 cases of emergency transportation of patients undergoing medical treatment at home, etc., have been carried out in the week leading up to the 24th of this month.
It increased by more than 30% from the previous week and exceeded the peak of 706 cases in the 6th wave.
Increasingly, there are increasing cases where no vacant beds are found and it takes time to transport, and in the week leading up to the 24th of this month, 89% of the 725 cases took more than an hour to transport.
In addition, 84 cases took more than 5 hours, which is more than four times the number of the previous week.
On the other hand, there were 852 cases in which ambulance was requested but not transported due to the judgment of the health center.
Recently, not only the new coronavirus but also cases of being transported on suspicion of heat stroke have been reported one after another, so the Tokyo Fire Department is continuing to cooperate with related organizations.
Emergency patient hospital Difficult to accept new patients
At a university hospital in Tokyo, which responds to emergency patients with high urgency due to the "7th wave" of the new coronavirus, the number of beds for other emergency patients is being reduced in order to secure corona beds. It is difficult to accept new patients.
Physicians in the field are in danger of not being able to provide regular emergency care.
Nippon Medical School Hospital in Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo is a hospital with an advanced critical care center. When the infection spreads this time, the number of beds for general critically ill patients was reduced to 26, which is about half, and the number of beds for corona patients was reduced to 8. We secure the floor and correspond.
As of the 26th, only three patients were hospitalized in the corona bed, but patients with serious illnesses were transported due to fever, etc., and as patients suspected of having corona, they were hospitalized in the corona bed. It means that there are a number of cases that require response.
In addition, many patients are transported due to illnesses or injuries other than corona, which means that the beds for critically ill patients are almost full.
Hospitals usually respond to about 90% of requests for ambulance transportation, but now that only about 60% are accepted, on the 26th, 6 requests received from morning to around 1 pm On the other hand, only one case was accepted.
Mr. Masashi Yokobori, director of the Advanced Critical Care Center, said, "Now, even if a seriously ill person gets corona, there is no place to go. Since emergency medical care is not immediately accessible, it can be used for traffic accidents and injuries. I want you to be careful. "
Osaka "Medical Emergency Declaration"
In Osaka Prefecture, the number of newly infected people announced on the 26th has reached a record high, and the infection has spread and the usage rate of beds is also high.
In response to this situation, Osaka Prefecture held a meeting of the countermeasures headquarters, and Governor Yoshimura said, "The infection may spread further, and the entire medical care including the fever outpatient department and the emergency outpatient department is tight. In addition, many inpatients Is an elderly person in his 70s or older, and wants to decide on requests and measures based on these points. "
In response to this, the conference raised the "Osaka model" to "red", which indicates an emergency, and issued a "state of emergency", saying that the medical care provision system was tight.
At the same time, we call on the citizens of the prefecture to thoroughly implement basic infection control measures such as diligent ventilation and to receive early vaccinations. In addition, we have decided to encourage people who come into contact with the elderly on a daily basis, such as family members living together, to refrain from behaviors that are at high risk of infection.
We do not request restaurants to shorten their business hours, but they do request thorough mask dinners.
These requests will be made from the 28th to the 27th of next month.
In addition, at the meeting, it was confirmed that the online medical care and drug prescription system will be strengthened in light of the rapid increase in the number of infected people.
As of the 27th, which was announced after the countermeasures headquarters meeting, the bed usage rate in Osaka Prefecture was 52.0%, which exceeded the standard of emergency of 50%.
In some cases, contact is delayed due to the rapid increase in the number of home recuperators in Kobe City.
In response to the rapid spread of the new corona infection, Kobe City has more than doubled the number of people in charge of contacting infected people to strengthen their response, but there are cases where the number of people receiving medical treatment at home increases rapidly and contact is delayed. It's coming out.
In February, Kobe City set up a "home care follow-up center" on one floor of the city hall to reduce the burden on health centers.
In addition to contacting people who are mildly or asymptomatic and undergoing medical treatment at home, we also respond to consultations from the individual and his / her family by telephone.
Until now, it was outsourced to a private company with 70 people, but due to the rapid spread of the new corona infection, about 100 staff members were dispatched from almost all departments of the city from last week to deal with 170 people. is.
The city has a policy of contacting the infected person within 24 hours after identifying the infected person, but there are cases where contact is delayed for about a day due to the rapid increase in infected people.
On the 27th, the person in charge was busy with inquiries such as "when can I finish waiting at home and return to work" and to notify the end of the medical treatment period.
Hideo Murata, Chief of the Health Division of Kobe City Health Center, said, "The rapid spread of infection from the latter half of this month has increased the burden on staff such as responding to telephone calls. I would like to ask the citizens to thoroughly implement basic infection control measures." ..