Japan PM Kishida Vows to Help Expand COVID-19 Care Capacity

From Jiji

February 9 2022

TOKYO – Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Wednesday that the government will help expand care capacity for COVID-19 patients by 660 people in Tokyo and 350 people in Osaka Prefecture. 

The government will dispatch nurses to Tokyo and Osaka from public hospitals, Kishida said in separate meetings with Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike and Osaka Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura.

 In her meeting with Kishida at the prime minister’s office in Tokyo, Koike pointed to a need to shorten the time that patients spend in hospital and to transfer patients with mild symptoms to other facilities in order to prevent a medical system collapse.

“We want to see an overall policy that is based on the characteristics of the omicron strain,” Koike said.

In his online meeting with the prime minister, Yoshimura called for easing restrictions that make antibody remedies and oral drugs available only for people who have tested positive for the coronavirus.