Ishikawa experiences medical woes after quake, supply shortage and infections a concern

By Barrier Free Japan, The Asahi Shimbun

January 8 2024

Ishikawa Pref – Mayor Shigeru Sakaguchi of Wajima City, Ishikawa Prefecture, announced on January 7th that one victim of the Noto Peninsula earthquake who had evacuated to an evacuation center in the city had died of hypothermia.

It was also announced that nine people were infected with norovirus and two people were infected with the new coronavirus at an evacuation center. They were all in the same evacuation center. After receiving treatment at the hospital, he was placed in isolation.

The Asahi Shimbun interviewed Shoji Yokobori, a professor of emergency medicine at Nippon Medical School in Tokyo:

“He expressed concern that many residents might die as an indirect result of the earthquake and tsunami because some areas were not receiving adequate food or medicine.

Yokobori also noted there were about 100 foreign nationals, including Vietnamese, at the evacuation centers who had varying degrees of fluency in the Japanese language.

His primary concern was an outbreak of infectious diseases in the days ahead due to a shortage of antimicrobials and kits to test for COVID-19 and influenza. He added that quarantining such patients was not a suitable option since the rooms might use up most of the heating fuel.”