An explosion of coronavirus cases in Osaka Prefecture is overwhelming medical resources, with hospitals forced to turn away patients who, in some cases, then had to spend hours in an ambulance before they could finally be admitted.
The number of severely ill patients in the prefecture as of Wednesday was equivalent to 141% of available hospital beds for such cases. The same day, a record 1,260 infections were reported, along with 14 deaths.
On Thursday, Osaka reported 1,171 new cases and a record 44 deaths.