Local governments are struggling to secure hotels and other lodging facilities for the recuperation of a surging number of patients infected with the novel coronavirus.
The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry has requested people who are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms to recuperate at such accommodation facilities in principle. According to a ministry tally as of Wednesday, the number of infected people recuperating at accommodation facilities has doubled in about a month, to 4,152 nationwide.
The occupancy rate of rooms at such facilities has risen to 57% from 41% a week earlier in Nara Prefecture, and to 42% from 37% over the same time frame in Tokyo.
On the other hand, some people recuperate at home rather than at such lodging facilities due to family and other reasons. The number of people recuperating at home as of Wednesday totaled 6,430, nearly quadruple the figure from about a month ago.
In Hokkaido, 273 people with the virus were waiting for their accommodation sites to be decided as of Friday. The Hokkaido prefectural government secured 670 rooms in November, but has now increased the figure to 1,660. Although there are still available rooms, many new infection cases are confirmed every day. The prefectural government said administrative procedures and preparations at the lodging facilities were not made in time.
In Nara Prefecture, where there are few large hotels, the prefectural government has secured only one facility, where 65 out of 108 rooms have been used. In response to a rapid increase in the number of infections in the prefecture, the prefectural government is publicly soliciting cooperation from lodging facility operators.
While more accommodation facilities for infected people can be secured, they cannot necessarily be used immediately. According to the Kanagawa prefectural government, it takes two to three weeks to secure nurses who will monitor the health of the patients, train the staff managing the facilities and make arrangements with security service companies, among other matters.
After a male patient recuperating at a hotel in Yokohama went outside without permission in November, efforts are being made to strengthen security measures at relevant facilities.
"If the number of infections continues to rise, the staffing to run accommodation facilities will run out," a Kanagawa prefectural government official said.
"If there are municipalities that have difficulty securing facilities and staff, the central government wants to consider taking action," a health ministry official said.
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