After Japan’s Govt hospitalization policy suggested mild COVID cases be treated at hotels or at home, Chiba Prefecture develops guidelines for COVID patients with disabilities

By Barrier Free Japan with extracts from NHK

August 6 2021

CHIBA – Japanese health minister Norihisa Tamura said on Thursday 5th August that COVID-19 patients with mild symptoms will be advised to be treated at a hospital if the doctor says they have a high risk of getting more ill, under the government’s revised guidelines on coronavirus hospitalization.

“People with moderate symptoms will be hospitalized, in principle,” Tamura explained at a parliamentary committee meeting. The new guidelines stipulate that COVID-19 patients with a low possibility of developing severe symptoms be cared for at home, in principle.

Chiba Prefecture has established its own standards for hotel treatment and home treatment.

In principle, people between the ages of 20 and 64 who are asymptomatic or have minor illnesses are allowed to stay at hotels, and if they have an underlying disease, their symptoms must be stabilized by oral medication and they must not be pregnant. Those between 65 and 74 years old who are asymptomatic, and those under 19 years old who are judged to be able to live independently without a guardian are also allowed.

The criteria for home treatment are as follows: the patient must be under 60 years of age, have a private room at home where he or she can receive treatment, be 65 years of age or older, be pregnant, have a serious underlying disease, or not live with a medical or nursing care provider.

Exceptions to this criteria include if you are an asymptomatic or mildly ill person who has difficulty in medical treatment at a hotel due to dementia or intellectual disability and whose family members agree, people who live with an elderly person or a pregnant woman but whose living space can be separated, people who cannot take over childcare or nursing care and who can coordinate with local services to take care of themselves when they are not feeling well, and pregnant women who can cooperate with medical institutions when their condition suddenly changes. In the case of a pregnant woman, home care is also allowed if she can cooperate with medical institutions in case of sudden changes in her condition.