The mayor of Hokkaido's Asahikawa said Monday he has asked the prefectural government to request the dispatch of 10 nurses from the Self-Defense Forces due to a shortage of health care workers attending to severe COVID-19 patients.
Asahikawa, Hokkaido's second-largest city after Sapporo, has recently seen a series of cluster infections, including at some major hospitals.
A total of 224 cases had been been reported at Asahikawa Kosei General Hospital as of Sunday, making it the largest hospital cluster in the nation, and 184 cases have been confirmed at Keiyukai Medical Foundation Yoshida Hospital.