At-Home COVID-19 Patients Up 14-Fold in 2 Weeks in Japan

From Jiji Press

January 29 2022

TOKYO – The number of COVID-19 patients staying at home is surging in Japan, amid the spread of the omicron coronavirus variant, which is believed to be highly infectious but less likely to cause severe symptoms.

The nationwide number of such patients hit a record high of some 264,000 as of Tuesday, up about 14-fold from two weeks earlier.

In the current situation, there are growing concerns about coronavirus transmissions within households. According to government data, nearly 40 pct of people newly found positive for the coronavirus earlier this month contracted the virus at their homes.

Hiroo Hanabusa, head of Shinjuku Hiro Clinic in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward, which deals with around five to six patients a day through home visits and online, said that many of the clinic’s COVID-19 patients were those in their 20s to 40s before and that it currently takes care of a wide range of patients, from children to the elderly.

“In line with an increase in infected people, the number of severely ill patients could grow,” Hanabusa said.