More people infected with the novel coronavirus but showing mild or no symptoms may soon be allowed to recuperate at home, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned.
The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry plans to urge local governments to ensure the implementation of measures, such as monitoring patients' condition and delivering meals to them, in order to enable asymptomatic or mild-case patients who are unable to stay at designated facilities to recuperate at home, according to sources.
The ministry has a basic policy of accommodating people with mild or no symptoms at designated facilities for recuperation. However, with the number of infections increasing, some local governments that have yet to secure enough such facilities have asked people with mild symptoms to stay home until they find the places to accommodate such patients. In some cases, health workers and relevant others were unable to check the condition of patients who were waiting for rooms, and the patients ended up going out to buy food or for other purposes.
Given the situation, the ministry has decided to develop a support system by clarifying requirements to allow people to recuperate at home, such as people who are self-reliant or have no smokers in the household they live with. The health of people recuperating at home will be monitored regularly by people such as health workers. Local governments are also expected to use state subsidies to have service providers deliver meals to the patients' homes.
Regarding the issue as to where people with mild symptoms should recuperate, the ministry once changed its basic stance to use accommodation facilities, instead of using these facilities and people's homes, from the viewpoint of preventing the spread of the virus in their homes.
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