A total of 24,629 medical institutions nationwide have been designated by their respective prefectures as of Tuesday as facilities that will treat patients with fever suspected of contracting the new coronavirus or influenza, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry announced Thursday.
According to the ministry, it is now possible to collect as many as 500,000 samples by nasal swabs and other methods and analyze 540,000 using antigen or PCR tests each day. That exceeds the 460,000 tests estimated to be needed during the peak period of infections.
In preparation for a surge in patients with fever in the winter due to simultaneous spreading of the coronavirus and influenza, the health ministry has shifted from a system in which consultation and diagnosis are centered on public health centers to one that allows patients to quickly obtain treatment or testing at their primary caregiver.
As of Wednesday, 8,566 facilities nationwide have carried out tests for the new coronavirus, including on returnees from overseas and those who came in contact with confirmed patients. The addition of the newly designated medical institutions nearly triples that number.
Tokyo has the most designated facilities with 3,000, accounting for 20 percent of all medical institutions in the metropolis. Tottori and Kagoshima prefectures have designated about 50 percent of their medical facilities, totaling 272 and 813, respectively.
Conversely, Chiba Prefecture, with 346, and Osaka Prefecture, with 971, have designated just 10 percent of their facilities, showing a disparity among local governments.
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