For the past three years, I've put up with eating out, traveled, and didn't go to the movies January 25, 17:29

"I'm always fighting anxiety"

This is a special elderly nursing home in Ichikawa City, Chiba Prefecture.

I have continued to take measures to prevent infection as much as possible, but I have experienced clusters in the facility three times so far.

An elderly person who had been eating normally until the day before and had no symptoms suddenly started to have trouble breathing in the early morning and immediately called an ambulance

. But..."

(Corporate News Reporter Kota Iida)

"I'm sorry, I got infected."

The morning of January 2nd, the second day after the new year.

The phone of Tetsutaka Chino (56), the director of a special nursing home in Ichikawa City, rang.

"I have a fever. I have a sore throat and a headache, and I have a temperature of 37.8 degrees."

A caregiver who had been at work since New Year's Day complained of deteriorating physical condition.

Two users of the facility were also confirmed positive despite being asymptomatic.

We immediately took necessary measures such as zoning and did not expand to clusters.

The facility continues to take strict infection control measures.

When an infected person appears, Mr. Chino says that it is these words of the staff who are asked after that that make it difficult for Mr. Chino.

"I'm sorry that I was infected with Corona."

Three clusters have occurred in the last three years of the corona wreck at the facility.

In the second cluster that occurred in February last year in the middle of the sixth wave, some users died of infection.

Tetsutaka Chino, Director of the Facility:

“The staff members have a very strong feeling that if they get infected, they will cause trouble for everyone. , I don't even go on trips, I'm putting up with fun things."

Still "clench your teeth"

The deceased was an 82-year-old man.

Although he had to be recuperated in a facility, his symptoms were relatively mild, and he was eating well until the day before.

However, at 5:30 the next morning, a staff member confirmed that she was not breathing properly and called 911.

The ambulance arrived immediately, but the situation continued that the hospital to be transported to was not decided.

An ambulance is waiting outside while the destination is not decided.

The family did not enter inside due to infection control and waited outside.

Four hours later, he was finally taken to the hospital, where he died 10 minutes after arriving at the hospital.

It is said that Mr. Chino kept bowing his head to the bereaved family, who were shocked by the sudden death and could not organize their minds.

What happened to her and what infection control measures did she take?

She made numerous visits to the bereaved families seeking further clarification.

She said, "I will continue to work hard with clenched teeth,"

explaining the facts one by one.

Tetsutaka Chino, Director of the Facility:

"For the bereaved family, they can't meet even if they come to the site just by calling 'The man is infected with Corona' or 'I'm sick and called an ambulance.' Also, even at the crematorium, the remains were turned into bones without their faces being seen, and the remains were handed over. We had been able to eat properly until the day before, and to be honest, we didn't think we would die, so there was a sense of shock and despair."

"Don't waste it"

After the man passed away, the consciousness of the staff became more urgent than ever.

Be more cautious about your actions, such as avoiding contact with people as much as possible.

When I'm sick, I always declare it and take a rest, and I've come to do everything I can to prevent bringing in the virus.

In response to requests from bereaved families to "don't let the deaths of their family members go to waste," the "zoning" of separating infected and non-infected people has become even stricter.

In addition, if even one person was infected, all user families were contacted via the website or by phone, but the family of the infected person should be notified more frequently, regardless of whether the situation is good or bad. We proactively provided information to families who had no choice but to spend their time in anxiety without knowing the details of the situation, such as contacting them each time.

However, the third cluster still occurred in November last year.

Through December, 23 people, including users and staff, were infected.

Regarding the situation and countermeasures at that time, Mr. Chino's answer to the interview is also broadcast in the news.

[Click here for news video and text at that time]

Corona "Type 5" amid relaxation of measures

Strict infection control at elderly facilities that still continues.

On the other hand, it has been three years since the corona crisis, and discussions are progressing toward "relaxation of countermeasures" and "normalization", such as the policy to lower the treatment of infectious diseases to "Category 5" this spring. increase.

If it becomes "Type 5", it is expected that it will be decided in the future while listening to the opinions of experts.

However, in principle, local governments cannot take measures such as recommending hospitalization if a person falls into category 5, and some medical expenses will be borne by the patient.

In addition, the future focus is on what will happen to the hospitalization adjustment that public health centers and others are doing.

On January 20, I asked Mr. Chino again about how he sees these movements.

Q.

What is your view on the discussion on the reduction to Category 5?

A.

I'm still having a hard time, but it's possible that I'll have even more trouble if I become a 5th class, so I'd like to know what the government thinks about that.

A.

Elderly people may experience sudden changes in their physical condition.

Even after calling 119 and the fire department rushing to the scene, there are cases where it takes 3 to 4 hours to decide which hospital to accept a person who is suspected of having been infected with the coronavirus and who is transported by ambulance. .

Even so, the prefectural and public health centers are still frantically searching all over the prefecture, so we are somehow able to find them.

I think the hospital adjustment will be more difficult.

I hope that the number of people whose lives are in danger will not increase when time is of the essence.

Q.

Can't the facility's infection control guard be lowered even if it becomes 5?

A.

After the number of infected people has decreased further and measures have been taken to prevent them from becoming severe like influenza, we will consider various mitigation measures, but there is no guarantee that they will come back when they become severe. I feel uneasy about changing something in the middle of nowhere.

It's been reported that the number of infected people has decreased from the previous week, but I don't think the risk of people who are more likely to become seriously ill, such as the elderly, has changed.

A.

At the facility, all staff are now taking antigen tests twice a week with subsidies from the prefecture.

Previously, the PCR test was once a week, but by changing the frequency to twice a week, we were able to detect the infection before it spread, and in more cases we were able to prevent the virus from being brought into the facility.

There are cases where the antigen test is negative and you come to work, but when you test again later, it is positive.

If the prefecture's subsidies and support decrease and the number of tests decreases or disappears, the risk of infection will increase.

Q.

Currently, "movement restrictions" have been shortened to a maximum of 7 days for infected people and a maximum of 5 days for those who have close contact with people at home.

If these restrictions are eliminated in Class 5, it is expected that there will be no cases where "essential workers" such as caregivers who are in close contact with family members will be unable to come to work. There are also voices.

What about this?

A.

Based on the experience of the cluster, it's honestly scary to relax the current standards, such as allowing infected but asymptomatic employees to come to work in order to solve the labor shortage.

Even if the number of people is small, if a user catches the coronavirus, they are really close to death. I don't even think about the teacher of the contract doctor.

Q.

What will happen if the measures in the world are eased for the future?

A.

I tell the staff that I don't want them to go to places like eating out or crowds.

Even if the world becomes more lenient, for the reason I mentioned earlier, the staff working at such facilities must be very careful about that.

When that happens, I think there will be an increase in the number of people who honestly think, ``I don't want to be in this industry if I have to go through such a hard time,'' and we don't go to the movies or eat out.

I can't travel.

Do you mean "division" that people around you are doing it?

I think we may end up in a situation where we are already living a completely different life from the mundane world.

Therefore, I would like you to take it in a direction that also considers people who become seriously ill.

And then the "non-routine"

In the pouch that Chino-san always carries, there is a PHS that can be used anywhere in the facility, a personal mobile phone, a disinfectant spray, and goggles.

In particular, Mr. Chino always tries to answer incoming calls immediately.

The one thing that always makes me nervous is the news that someone at the facility got sick, which I introduced at the beginning of this article.

If even one caregiver tests positive, they will put on a protective suit to provide assistance, and zoning will begin in some areas of the facility, putting them in a "ready for battle."

It is said that they are doing it thoroughly, saying, ``There is no overdoing on infection control.''

"It's like being the captain of a ship."

When someone is found to be infected, the director of a facility is required to rush to the facility without rest, and is required to steer the safety of users and the operation of the facility.

When I had my first cluster three years ago, I had to go to work on holidays and many nights when I couldn't go home.

It seems that such a position is superimposed on the figure of the captain who works for the ship and the crew after leaving the land once, regardless of rest or work.

Sometimes when I go up to the roof of the facility, I can see Mt.Fuji in the distance.

At this time of year, I can't help but put my hands on the elegant white snow-covered figure and say, "I hope it doesn't spread any further."

After doing everything I could think of, "praying" became a habit before I knew it.

Finally, when I asked him why he was interviewed despite his busy schedule, Mr. Chino said the following.

Facility manager Tetsutaka Chino:

"Nursing facilities, where there are many elderly people who are likely to become seriously ill, are places where clusters should never occur. From now on, we will never take off our masks, and I don't think we will lower our guard against infectious diseases.I know that there are young people who are proud of their work and worked hard during the year-end and New Year holidays. I want you to know, and I want you to support me so that I can continue working in the future.”

News Reporter

Kota Iida

Joined in 2009

After working at the Chiba Bureau, Akita Bureau, and the Network Press Department, he currently belongs

.