The Tokyo metropolitan government said Friday that it would have two hospitals operate exclusively for patients infected with the novel coronavirus by October, as more people are being infected and hospitalized.
On Saturday, 429 new cases of the virus were confirmed in Tokyo, exceeding 200 for the 12th consecutive day. This was also the second consecutive day the daily number topped 400 since a record high of 472 was reported on Aug. 1.
According to the metropolitan government, the average number of infected people during the week from Aug. 1 to 7 was 345.1, higher than the previous week's average of 287. The latest figure is double the highest average of 167.0 recorded during a period when the state of emergency was in effect. The metropolitan government has secured 2,400 beds, but the number of inpatients climbed to 1,475 as of Friday. Twenty-three people with the virus were seriously ill on Friday, up by two from the previous day.
To prevent a shortage of hospital beds, the metropolitan government plans to operate Tokai University Tokyo Hospital in Shibuya Ward and the former Tokyo metropolitan Fuchu center for therapy and education in Fuchu as designated hospitals for coronavirus patients. The two hospitals will make it possible to accept a total of about 200 more patients with mild or moderate symptoms.
The metropolitan government also plans to secure two more hotels with about 900 rooms to accommodate people such as those with mild symptoms, bringing the total number of such rooms to about 3,000.
At a regular press conference on Friday, Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike stated her intention to strengthen financial support for medical institutions. "We want to ensure an effective medical system as the medical field is facing a severe situation with the number of [coronavirus] patients increasing," she said.
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