The new corona will become "Class 5" from May 8, after the long holidays, but the number of newly infected people has been on an increasing trend recently.
On the other hand, the medical care system that can be received in the event of infection will change significantly. In addition, the announcement of the number of infected people, which is currently done every day, has ended, and it will be changed to a weekly "fixed point grasp" announcement. We summarized in detail using the Q&A format.
Q.What is the latest infection status in front of "Class 5"?
A.Ahead of the transition to Class 5, the number of newly infected people with the new coronavirus is on the rise.
Based on the number of infected people announced by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, NHK summarized the trend of the number of newly infected people nationwide on a weekly average compared to the previous week.
▽ ~ 1 week of 13th of this month 1.1 times the previous week ▽ ~ 10 week of the 20th of this month 1.1 times the previous week ▽ ~ 09 week of the 27th of this month 1.1 times
of the previous week The increase trend continued, surpassing the previous week for the fifth consecutive week.
By prefecture, Toyama 15.5 times, Hokkaido 1.49 times, Gifu 1.41 times, Niigata 1.35 times
,
etc.
The national average number of new cases per day is more than 1,33, more than 1300,1 more than last week, and 36 prefectures are higher than the previous week.
Click here for the detailed situation of each prefecture
Expert "The number of infected people is slowly increasing behind the scenes"
Professor Kazuhiro Tateda of Toho University and a member of the government subcommittee said, "Nationwide, there have been more days than the previous week since the end of March, and although the increase is moderate, the number of infected people continues to increase. The number of infected people is gradually increasing behind the scenes."
Regarding the future infection situation, he said, "The risk of an increase in the number of infected people is increasing in the future as relaxation progresses at a level never experienced before, such as long holidays, relaxation of border measures, and transition to Class 3."
Q.Will the announcement of the number of infected people end?
A.The current daily announcement will end on Monday, May 5th, after the consecutive holidays.
It means that the minutes until May 8 will be announced on the 5th and will end.
Instead, the "fixed point" presentation will begin once a week, every Friday, with the first one scheduled for Friday, May 7.
You may hear the words "grasp the total number" and "grasp the fixed point" in the news, but what is currently being done is "grasp the total number", which is a method in which medical institutions and local governments grasp the number of infected people, report it, and announce it every day.
On the other hand, the newly launched "fixed-point grasp" is a method of epidemic monitoring that is also used for seasonal influenza.
It is a method in which 5000,1 designated medical institutions nationwide report the number of infected people for one week collectively the following week, and the infection status is grasped while observing the increase or decrease in the number of patients per medical institution.
The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare will aggregate the reported data and announce it every Friday, and the first time the number of infected people from May 1 to 5 will be announced on Friday, May 8.
The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) has also shown data on changes in the number of infected people at 14,5 designated medical institutions from the "eighth wave" to the present in order to be able to compare future trends in the number of infected people with past data.
Q.What about the announcement of "deaths", "hospitalized people", and "seriously ill people"?
A. The daily announcement by prefectural governments of the number of deaths will also end until Monday, May 5. The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare aggregates prefectural information and announces it the next day, so the compilation of the nationwide death toll will end on Tuesday, May 8.
The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare plans to grasp trends based on "vital statistics" in the future, and says that the total number of deaths will be compiled in two months, and the detailed number of deaths by cause will not be compiled until five months.
On the other hand, in order to grasp the situation of medical tightness and trends in aggravation, we will continue to publish the number of hospitalized people and seriously ill patients, which is carried out once a week based on reports from all medical institutions.
In addition, in order to grasp the signs of the spread of the epidemic, we will continue to conduct research to determine the prevalence of antibodies against the virus by analyzing blood donated blood, and to detect viruses contained in sewage to grasp the trend of the epidemic.
Q.What kind of medical care can I receive when I am infected?
A.Currently, some medical institutions have set up a "fever outpatient" clinic to accept patients who have symptoms such as cough and fever and are suspected of having the new coronavirus, while others do not accept corona patients.
The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) has stated that it will "aim to create a system that allows patients to receive medical examinations at a wide range of medical institutions" after the transition to Class 5, and will proceed with the transition in stages by April next year.
Specifically, we will first aim to establish the following system for outpatient care.
Currently ............ Approximately 4,4 medical institutions
nationwide ▽ After the transition to Class 2000 ...... In addition to the approximately 5,6 medical institutions nationwide, prefectural governments are urging medical institutions not to limit the patients they accept to family patients, and prefectural governments will continue their efforts to announce medical institutions
that respond to the novel coronavirus for the time being.
Q.What if I am hospitalized?
A.For inpatients, we will aim for the following system.
▽ Mainly accepted
by about 3000,8200 medical institutions that have secured corona beds ▽ Accepted by all about <>,<> hospitals
In addition, we will actively promote the acceptance of elderly people in "community comprehensive care wards" that provide rehabilitation and other support for discharge.
In order to increase the number of medical institutions that accept new medical institutions, in addition to reviewing guidelines for nosocomial infection control, we will provide support for the development of necessary equipment for countermeasures.
In addition, the "corona beds" that accept patients with the new coronavirus will be phased out, and in the future, we will proceed with accepting general hospital beds.
Click here for the burden of medical expenses and infection control measures after the transition to Class 5 ↓
Corona "Class 5" officially decided What will happen from May 5? 【Q＆A】
Q.Can general wards accept corona patients?
A.Some medical institutions have already accepted them.
Saiseikai Yokohama Tobu Hospital in Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama City, has secured up to 50 beds and has accepted nearly 1000,3 corona patients with severe and moderate illness.
In March last year, the hospital abolished its ward dedicated to coronavirus.
This is because the severity of the new corona has decreased since the Omicron variant, and the number of cases of underlying diseases worsening due to infection has increased compared to corona pneumonia, the number of cases of elderly people hospitalized for reasons other than corona has increased, and we aimed to balance it with general medical care that had been affected by the corona disaster.
Instead, each ward, such as nephrology and cardiovascular medicine, has a hospital room that can accept corona patients, and each specialist treats corona patients.
In addition, in order to prevent the physical weakness of the elderly, the hospital also provides rehabilitation from the initial stage of hospitalization with the consent of the elderly.
Corona hospitalized patient rehabilitating
Many of the patients hospitalized with corona are elderly people, and there are many cases where physical strength decreases or underlying diseases worsen due to infection, but the aim is to prevent physical functions and conditions from deteriorating through rehabilitation.
Physical therapists involved in rehabilitation have more contact with patients, so they need to change medical masks and protective clothing every time they enter and leave a hospital room, but many elderly patients recovered and were discharged from the hospital from a severe bedridden state to the point where they could live their daily lives after days of rehabilitation.
Dr. Morijun Miyagi, Director of the Medical Collaboration Center, said, "With the Omicron variant, there have been very prominent cases of patients with chronic diseases and elderly patients who have worsened their chronic diseases due to infection and require hospitalization.
Koichi Yoshida, deputy director of the hospital's rehabilitation center, said, "I believe that if infection control measures are taken appropriately, it is possible to reduce the risk of coronavirus and maintain and improve the physical strength of the elderly at any medical institution, whether in acute care hospitals or at home.
Q.Are preparations made by local governments?
A.Prefectural governments nationwide compiled a transition plan on March 21 to facilitate the expansion of the medical care provision system and the coordination of hospitalization at medical institutions, and reported it to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.
According to this, the hospitalization system compiled by each prefecture is as follows.
At the peak of the "eighth wave," about 8,5 patients were hospitalized.
In response to this, in preparation for the spread of infections in the summer, approximately 3000,8400 medical institutions nationwide have secured a system that can accept up to approximately 5,8000 patients.
On the other hand, the number of medical institutions that provide outpatient care is currently expected to increase by 2000,4 from the current level to about 4000,5, but it has not reached the target of 6,4000 after the transition to Class 9.
The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) will continue to provide support such as securing infection control equipment and protective clothing, and will increase the number of medical institutions that provide new outpatient care while presenting hospital-acquired infection manuals.
The plan period is to be until the end of September in anticipation of the spread of infection in winter, after which it will be reviewed for each region.
Q.How do you prepare for new mutant strains?
A."Genome analysis" to grasp the occurrence of new mutant strains = Genetic analysis of viruses will continue with the target number reduced to about one-fourth.
Until now, genome analysis has been conducted at a rate of about 4~1% in prefectures, with a target of 5~10 cases per week, and the National Institute of Infectious Diseases has analyzed 300 cases per week.
After the transition to Class 400, the number of cases will be 800 per week in prefectures and 5 per week in the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, and the results will be announced on the website of the National Institute of Infectious Diseases.
Q.What should I be careful about during the long holidays?
A.Professor Kazuhiro Tateda of Toho University and a member of the government subcommittee said:
"Across the country, more than 1,20 cases a day are reported as the tip of the iceberg, and the number of deaths is considerably lower than at one time, but about 30 to <> people die a day.
"It is important to maintain basic infection control measures even during the long holidays, and I would like you to be aware of protecting people who are vulnerable to infection, such as using masks effectively in dense places and poorly ventilated places, and above all, not forcing yourself to go out or travel when you feel unwell, and recuperating at home with caution that you may have a coronavirus when you feel that you have a cold."