In the United States, which has the highest number of people infected with the new coronavirus, the situation is serious in western California.
In the medical field, the number of critically ill patients is increasing, but the number of nurses is insufficient.
And in public hospitals, it seems that the decrease in tax revenue due to the economic stagnation may lead to a decline in the quality of medical care.
In western California, the situation worsened after Thanksgiving holidays in November last year, and Johns Hopkins University in the United States summarized that the number of new infections per day was 60,000 in December last year. There were days when it exceeded the number of people.
For the past two weeks, the average number of people per day has been about 15,000, but it is said that the situation where the medical field is heavily burdened remains unchanged.
The situation is particularly serious in southern California, such as Los Angeles.
Under these circumstances, Dr. Arisa Suzuki of the Department of Radiology, a public hospital in the suburbs of Los Angeles, responded to an interview with NHK on the 5th of this month.
Dr. Suzuki commented on the current situation, "The most difficult thing is the large number of patients. The more patients become severe, the less resources the hospital will have. ICU = Intensive care unit beds are full. Is continuing. "
Dr. Suzuki said, "Since we will relocate from the operating room and outpatient department to send nurses to the ICU, the number of nurses who will do normal work will decrease. We will bring back retired people or come from the military. I heard that they were asked to do so, "he said, revealing that there was a shortage of nurses.
He also said, "In ICU, doctors sometimes volunteer to do the work that nurses usually do. I also pushed patients' beds and wheelchairs. In the United States, doctors and nurses I usually don't do anything like that because the boundaries between work are clear, "he explained.
On the other hand, in Los Angeles and other areas, the situation has improved somewhat, and on the 29th of last month, business at restaurants outdoors resumed for the first time in about two months, but the economy remains stagnant. I am.
Regarding this, Dr. Suzuki said, "Since the budget of public hospitals comes from sales tax, the hospital does not go around without tax revenue. Not only can you reduce working hours, but you may also be retired. I received two formal emails saying that there was one. I can't help without a budget, "he said, expressing a sense of crisis that a prolonged economic stagnation could lead to a decline in the quality of medical care in public hospitals.