Medical workers who have been fully vaccinated will be conditionally allowed to stay on the job even if they have been identified as having had close contact with patients infected with the novel coronavirus, the health ministry has decided.
The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry notified prefectural governments and others on Friday about the measure, which is aimed at avoiding manpower shortages in a medical system straining as infections spread rapidly across the nation.
Those identified by a public health center as having been in close contact with an infected person are required to quarantine at home for two weeks, even if they themselves tested negative.
As such, there are concerns on the medical frontline that increases in the number of medical workers identified as having close contact and ordered to stay home will produce staff shortages.
Under the new measure, the ministry will allow fully-vaccinated medical staff to continue working, limited to treating COVID-19 patients, under the condition that they are tested daily prior to work and have a negative result.
Since infections began soaring in July, Tokyo Medical and Dental University Medical Hospital in Bunkyo Ward has had more than 100 doctors, nurses and staff put on home quarantine after being identified as having had close contact with those infected.
In many cases, the personnel came in contact with a patient who was only found to be infected after being admitted to the hospital. There was one day in which almost 20 people were away from the job, according to the hospital.
"We have managed to handle the situation by reassigning staff and other means, but sometimes the staff is suddenly assigned an unfamiliar duty, making the circumstances very difficult," said the assistant hospital director.
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