Japan confirmed 588 new coronavirus cases Friday, with the country’s death toll from the virus rising by 17 to 1,365. Forty cases were reported at a facility for the mentally disabled in the prefectural capital of Yokohama on top of three cases already confirmed there.
The plan is to call on people aged 65 and over to get vaccinated for influenza starting in early October. Then from the latter half of October, medical workers, people with pre-existing conditions, pregnant women and infants will be encouraged to get the vaccine.
Japan’s coronavirus task force compiled on Friday draft guidelines on vaccination that say the government should prioritize inoculating medical workers, the elderly and those with underlying illnesses.
In Kochi Prefecture, 14 people were found to be infected, including 12 people in at welfare facility for the disabled. This is the highest number of infected people announced in Kochi prefecture in a day.
The target of this project are people who need assistance due to obstacles, etc., and citizens who live alone. It will deliver food for three days (about 3,000 yen) such as retort foods to the house up to five times, and will also manage physical condition and provide consultation support.
Osaka Prefecture announced on August 5 that a total of 11 users and staff were infected with the new coronavirus at a facility for the disabled in Osaka City. On Thursday 6 August, Osaka Prefecture confirmed a record 225 new cases of coronavirus.
Between February and June this year, the number of persons with disabilities who had been dismissed from companies was 1,104, an increase of 152 (16.0%) compared to the same period last year, according to a summary by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare by August 4th. One of the reasons is that it became impossible to maintain employment due to the deterioration of business as the new coronavirus spread.
Hoping to reduce human contact, operator of Mos Burger shops, Mos Food Services Inc. introduced a robot that can take orders. The company unveiled to the press on Tuesday what customer service can look like with an OriHime robot that can be remotely controlled by people with disabilities who have difficulty leaving their homes. Mos Food Services expects the robot will not only help reduce human contact amid the coronavirus, but also help solve labor shortages.
Once the coronavirus arrived in Japan, the thought of getting infected and spreading it to family and friends made her too anxious to go outside. By late May, she couldn’t sleep. She visited a clinic in Tokyo and was diagnosed with depression.
One employee in his thirties who works at a facility for disabled people in Meguro Ward, Tokyo, was found to be infected with the new coronavirus, and the ward is calling for more thorough prevention of infection.
Barrier Free Japan