The Tokyo Metropolitan Government says it plans to renovate the former Fuchu Medical Center for the Disabled through October to make it the second hospital specializing in treating COVID-19 patients.
Many elderly people have not increased the frequency of going out even after the government fully lifted its state of emergency over the coronavirus in late May, causing adverse effects on their willingness to live, according to the survey.
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.
Barrier Free Japan