Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced on Friday at a meeting of the government's Novel Coronavirus Response Headquarters that the government will begin a system to give priority to medical institutions for receiving masks and gowns. The government will check the availability of medical supplies online and distribute them to medical facilities that may run out within a week.
The government aims to protect medical workers from the coronavirus and to maintain a system to continue providing medical services.
"We hope the government will unite in its efforts to deliver as much [personal] protective equipment as possible to medical facilities," Abe said at a meeting of the Novel Coronavirus Response Headquarters.
Abe also said he will distribute 15 million surgical masks, 1.3 million medical gowns and 1.9 million face shields this month.
The government is also taking strong measures to deal with the growing risk of child abuse and domestic violence amid calls for school closures and asking people to refrain from leaving their homes. These measures include calling the homes of at-risk children, at least once a week by elementary school and day-care staff, to check for anything unusual.
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