More terminal cancer patients and others with serious illnesses in Japan are choosing home care rather than hospitalization amid the coronavirus pandemic. This is mainly because hospitals and other facilities are restricting visitations to stem the spread of infection.
Japan’s health ministry has decided to give seasonal flu shots to elderly people first, from October 1. The decision was made on Friday amid concerns over simultaneous outbreaks of influenza and coronavirus infections, which are hard to distinguish.
Yokohama City announced on September 10th that 66 men and women between the ages of 10 and 90 have been newly confirmed as infected with the new coronavirus. Three users and five staff members are newly infected at a facility for the disabled operated by the social welfare corporation “Shirane Gakuen” where a cluster has occurred.
In residential facilities for children with severe disabilities who have both intellectual disabilities and physical disabilities, on high alert to the possibility of new coronavirus infections, access problems continue.
Some parents have been unable to see their children for nearly half a year.
According to the municipal government , the outbreak was revealed in the Hikarinooka “Firefly” facility in Asahi Ward, Yokohama, which is a facility for people with intellectual disabilities. The social welfare corporation that manages the facility decides to suspend the use of day-care facilities for the time being.
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.
Barrier Free Japan