Far more mildly ill or asymptomatic COVID-19 patients in Japan are opting to self-isolate at home than hole up in hotels, leaving accommodations catering to them with abysmal occupancy rates, recent figures show.
Health ministry statistics as of April 28 showed that of the 8,711 official COVID-19 patients nationwide, only 862 were recovering at hotels catering to the mildly ill.
A separate survey released by the ministry around the same time, meanwhile, found that 12,090 hotel rooms were available for patients nationwide, indicating a measly occupancy rate of 7 percent. The number of patients at hotels, in fact, pales in comparison to the number recovering at home, who totaled 1,984, the figures showed.