People wear masks to play near Sensoji Temple in Tokyo, Japan, on August 13. Xinhua
According to foreign media reports, about 100,000 people infected with covid-19 in Japan have to nurse in their own homes due to insufficient hospital beds. The number of infected people who have no way to go to the hospital for treatment and end up dying in their own homes is increasing. In addition, pregnant women infected with COVID-19 are unable to be admitted to the hospital, and the number of premature births, miscarriages and even newborn deaths at home is also increasing.
There is now a widespread concern among Japanese medical experts, who argue that "if this phenomenon continues, Japan's healthcare system will not only face collapse, but may also face the risk of complete paralysis." "Now, the uneasiness in Japanese society is also increasing. A growing number of voices are worried: "Has the COVID-19 epidemic in Japan gotten out of control?" ”
The number of infected people has increased explosively, and the health care system has come under heavy pressure
According to foreign media reports, on August 21, the number of new infections in Japan was 25,292 in a single day. The number of new infected people the day before was 25,871, and the number of new people has exceeded 25,000 for two consecutive days. In the past seven days, the average number of new infections in Japan in a single day has been 21,865, which is seven times higher than when emergencies were announced before the opening of the Tokyo Olympic Games. From July 12 to 18, the number of infected people in Japan was only 2,988.
The number of infected people has increased explosively, but according to the regulations of Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, those who have no symptoms or are not serious symptoms of the new crown infection are in principle staying in their own homes to practice "self-care". So far, the number of such "home-based recuperators" has reached as many as 100,000. In addition, the cumulative number of seriously ill patients in Japan reached 1,888 on August 21, setting a new record for nine consecutive days.
The problem now is that once the condition of those "home-based recuperators" deteriorates and the oxygen saturation in their blood is lower than the dangerous level, it is difficult to be admitted to the hospital for rescue treatment. In Tokyo, Kanagawa, Chiba and Saitama prefectures, where the largest number of infected people were infected, the bed utilization rate for critically ill patients exceeded 70 percent last week. However, in the eyes of frontline medical staff, the actual utilization rate of critical care beds has reached 100%.
The "collapse of the Japanese medical system" is gradually becoming a reality
According to reports, between the 9th and 15th of this month, the number of infected people who suddenly deteriorated in their own convalescence and needed to be rushed to the hospital for rescue reached 2259, of which 1414 people were eventually unable to enter the hospital for treatment, accounting for 62.6% of the total. Six out of every 10 people called 119 for help, but in the end they didn't get any help.
According to statistics, of the 845 severely infected people who were sent to the hospital, 280 people took more than 3 hours to be arranged to the hospital. Last month, at least 18 "home-growing recuperators" from Tokyo and three "three prefectures" in the Tokyo metropolitan area, Kanagawa Prefecture, Chiba Prefecture, and Saitama Prefecture, died at home.
Others, even when taken to hospitals, later died because they did not receive effective treatment. On the 17th, an infected person recuperating in her own home in Chiba Prefecture was born prematurely in the 8th month of pregnancy, and her child died because she did not receive treatment. 2 days ago, the pregnant woman had called the hospital and the health center to request hospitalization, but in the end she could not find a place where she could be admitted.
Tokyo is the most serious, in a "state of loss of control"
According to reports, Japan's epidemic prevention experts have warned one after another: "The expansion of the epidemic situation in Japan has reached the level of disaster." Others argue that "Tokyo, the worst part of the outbreak, is already out of control." ”
Although more than 50% of Japanese citizens have received at least one dose of covid-19 vaccine, this has not played an expected role in preventing the epidemic. The reason for the surge in the number of infected people is mainly related to the mutated Delta strain. According to the latest statistics published by the National Institute of Infectious Diseases in Japan, 95% of those infected in the Tokyo metropolitan area and 80% of those infected in Osaka's immediate neighbors are infected with the Delta strain.
In Japan, vaccination rates are much higher among people over the age of 65 than among people aged 20 to 50. But the problem is that people in the 20-50 age group have not reduced their outdoor activities because of the epidemic. In July, the Japanese government issued an emergency declaration for several regions, including Tokyo, with the goal of "reducing the number of migrants in the main streets of Tokyo to less than 50% of the pre-declaration", but ultimately failed. At the beginning of August, although the Japanese government expanded the area of emergency declaration to six regions, with the opening of the Tokyo Olympic Games, the emergency declaration did not actually have any epidemic prevention effect.
At present, the epidemic situation in Tokyo is the most serious
Many believe that in the past year and a half, the Japanese government has issued several emergency declarations, which has led to the fact that its effect has been lost in name only. Some even quipped, "It's a declaration that it doesn't matter whether you do it or not." In view of the weakening of the epidemic prevention effect of the emergency declaration, some heads of japanese local governments proposed to Suga to "fix the lockdown policy prohibiting going out with the provisions of the law", but Suga refused. As an alternative, the Japanese government plans to increase covid-19 vaccination rates to 80 percent by October this year.
To address the collapse of the healthcare system, the Tokyo metropolitan government began setting up temporary oxygen stations this week to provide oxygen services to people infected with the new crown virus. In addition, the Japanese government is also discussing ways to change the benchmark of epidemic prevention policy from the current focus on new infected people to the center on severely ill infected people.
One in four healthcare workers is "burnout syndrome"
According to a new survey by Akira Kuriyama, director of the emergency center of Kurashiki Central Hospital in Japan, and others, a quarter of Japanese medical workers who are carrying out rescue work on the frontline of the new crown virus epidemic prevention have become "burnout syndrome". It can be seen that the situation in japan's frontline of the new crown virus epidemic prevention has reached a very grim point.
It is understood that the so-called "burnout syndrome" refers to a huge psychological gap that from the beginning was a high degree of enthusiasm for certain things, but then he was exhausted and exhausted, and in the end he had to give up.
According to Akira Kuriyama, in order to grasp the physical and mental state of medical staff across Japan, they conducted an online questionnaire survey of 867 medical staff in 15 prefectures in Japan. The main targets include doctors, nurses, and radiologists. 24 percent of respondents believe they are now "out of the game," feeling that they "are in a state of need for help first and foremost considering the pressures of work."
Regarding the new crown virus, 84% of the respondents were worried that "they would pass the virus on to their families"; 70% of the respondents were worried that "they would pass the virus on to their colleagues". In addition, about 70% of the respondents said that they would "develop resistance because the patient could not see their family"; 40% of the respondents even said: "I want to leave my job, I don't want to work." ”
Red Star News reporter Luo Tian
Edited by Ren Jiangbo
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