With the number of people infected with the new coronavirus increasing in Tokyo and four prefectures, a government panel of experts on Wednesday expressed concern over the possible collapse of medical services.
The panel to consider measures against the virus, which is chaired by Takaji Wakita, director general of the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, also called on the government to consider closing all schools at once even after the new academic term starts in alert areas where the number of infections rose sharply in the past week.
In its proposal to the government on Wednesday, the panel cited Tokyo and the four prefectures of Osaka, Kanagawa, Aichi and Hyogo and said, "Drastic measures need to be taken today or tomorrow as these areas have densely populated cities and their medical systems are becoming strained."
In light of this, the panel called for not only designated medical institutions for infectious diseases but also local university hospitals and other medical facilities to accept patients, saying, "The utmost efforts are necessary to provide medical services in accordance with the role of each hospital." It also pointed to the need to prepare an option for patients with mild or moderate symptoms to stay in accommodation facilities rather than at home.
The panel also urged the government to provide support for evaluating the effectiveness and safety of existing drugs and accelerate the domestic development of new vaccines.
As public fatigue over exercising self-restraint can be seen, the panel stated its concern that the sense of alert is fading more than expected among some people. On the other hand, it gave some leeway for playing outdoor sports and watching sports games in areas where no infections have been confirmed in the past week, on the assumption that appropriate measures against the virus are taken.
The Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry on Wednesday issued a notice to boards of education nationwide, asking them to consider closing all schools in alert areas beyond the start of the new academic term.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced a nationwide request for school closures on Feb. 27. The government decided not to extend the request on March 20. The education minister, Koichi Hagiuda, then mentioned the prospect that schools would reopen at the start of the new term, in principle, and announced guidelines for the reopening on March 24.
Alongside its latest notice, the ministry now plans to review these guidelines and have local governments ask school operators to close schools in their areas according to the level of infections.
"If there is concern about an explosive increase in the number of patients, the possibility of closing schools temporarily beyond the new academic term should be considered based on local conditions," Hagiuda told reporters on Wednesday.
At a meeting Wednesday of a government task force set up based on the revised special measures law to tackle new types of influenza, Abe said, "We will continue to provide support, such as financial aid, to parents and guardians who are forced to take time off work if schools are temporarily closed."
Ahead of this meeting, Abe said at an Audit Committee session at the House of Councillors: "It is not the time to declare a state of emergency at this point. First and foremost, I want to make a decision to protect the lives and health of the people."
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