The number of new coronavirus cases is rebounding again as Japan deals with its ninth wave of infections, prompting officials in hardest-hit Okinawa Prefecture to urge residents to stock up on food and medical supplies and ask people with mild symptoms to refrain from using emergency hospital services.
According to weekly statistics released Friday by the health ministry, the number of new COVID-19 infections reported from around 5,000 designated hospitals and clinics in the week through Sunday was 30,255, or 6.13 per institution. That’s up from 27,614, or 5.6 per institution, a week before.
In Okinawa, where case levels are the highest in the nation, the number of new cases per institution was 39.48, up from 28.74 a week before and marking an increase for six consecutive weeks.
Tetsuyoshi Asato, president of the Okinawa Medical Association, urged people to be more vigilant and use ambulance services only when necessary, saying that the prefecture’s health care system is severely strained.
“(At the rate the disease is spreading now), we may see a situation where we won’t be able to save the lives we otherwise should be able to,” he told a news conference on Thursday. “We need to stop this sudden rise in infections.”
On Monday, Shigeru Omi, the nation’s top coronavirus adviser, expressed concern on the situation in the southernmost prefecture, saying Okinawa’s medical system is more fragile than elsewhere in the nation.
Compared to much of the rest of the country, Okinawa has fewer hospital beds and there are limited medical services in some areas, particularly on its smaller islands.
Residents there also place a large emphasis on community gatherings, which may be contributing to a spike in infections, he said, adding that the lower-than-average inoculation levels in the prefecture may be another factor behind the recent surge in cases.
According to government statistics, as of Sunday the percentage of people who had received at least three coronavirus vaccine shots was 51.7% in Okinawa, compared with 68.73% nationally.
Meanwhile, the health ministry said that over 1,300 people nationwide, mostly in their 70s or older, died at home from COVID-19 during the eighth wave of the coronavirus pandemic over the winter.
Of the 1,309 people confirmed dead in their homes between Nov. 1 and Jan. 31, 743 were male, while 566 were female, according to a breakdown of the fatalities collected from municipal governments and released on Thursday.
According to the ministry, 63％ were in their 80s or over, while 22.6% were in their 70s, followed by those in their 60s, at 7.3%, and 50s, at 3.3%.
A share of 77.5% had underlying conditions while 10.8% did not. The health conditions of the remaining 11.7% is unknown.
Alarmingly, 38.3% of them had no or only light symptoms immediately before they died, indicating that some of them saw their conditions deteriorate rather suddenly.
Japan on May 8 downgraded the classification of COVID-19 to put it on par with seasonal flu, scaling back a range of support measures and deciding to leave prevention measures largely up to individuals and businesses.
Given the situation, however, the ministry said it will continue to provide consultation services for people who have a fever and need advice on treatment options, and for those who test positive for COVID-19 and experience sudden changes in their conditions.
The report also showed that 18.8% of the 1,309 people who died had received four COVID-19 vaccine shots, while 8.7% had been vaccinated five times. It also shows that 16.2% had never been vaccinated, while the vaccination history was not known for 42.4% of the people.
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