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© KYODOGov't policy to only hospitalize critical COVID patients draws flak
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© KYODO
97 Comments
gogogo
How about letting doctors and medical professionals decide that?
Alfie Noakes
Stay home, watch the Olympics and die. Enjoy a refreshing Poca Pola beverage!
TrevorPeace
Anyone who comments here and didn't see it coming should not post a thought. That is thoughtful.
The story says, "policy U-turn". I say he's quick on his toes. But he looks like...words escape me.
Wake up, Suga. You're out of your depth.
u_s__reamer
Before Japan's post-Olympic "Big Bang"? This drastic move sounds like Suga's latest attempt to play catch up with Covid already disappearing (around the curve to the "finish" line).
TrevorPeace
Who's pulling his strings?
Alfie Noakes
Anyone in Setagaya looking for vaccinations? According to this newspaper article the Ward is working with Rakuten, whose HQ is in Setagaya, to provide shots to residents over 18.
https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14407036
Ward office
https://www.city.setagaya.lg.jp/
Alfie Noakes
Octogenarian Toshihiro Nikai, LDP eminence grise and the genius behind the Go To Travel campaign that spread coronavirus all over Japan.
https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14410819
Chili
Having experienced first hand the hospital rejection of my son with breathing problems worsened by the covid infection is not a small thing. After 3days search 6 hospitals rejected we found a hospital with heart. Their main excuse we don’t have the equipment to take care of covid patients. Unbelievable! Not only my son his grandpa grandma three family friends experienced total rejection with the same excuse . They only want easy work and easy money. This government and hospital system is a joke.
smithinjapan
They have had SO long to prepare for this, and more than a year of health officials warning of this, but Suga and Co. have denied it's a problem in favor of holding the Olympics. Now he wants to leave people to die at home, and we all have heard the stories of elderly in particular who were left at home and no one knew they died until days after, etc.
GdTokyo
I don't know whether to laugh or to cry. Everyone knows that Covid patients can suddenly decompensate and need immediate medical attention. Everyone knows the Hospital system is inflexible and cannot handle the surge that everyone KNOWS is coming.
This is governmental malpractice.
I feel like we are in a race to get vaccinated vs. Delta and the government is not aiding us. Fortunately, the private sector has stepped up and I get my 2nd shoot via my wife's company this Saturday. I will be staying in unless absolutely necessary until the 14 days to full effect have elapsed.
virusrex
Scientifically there is no actual evidence of any usefulness of Ivermectin as a profilactic treatment, the best studies give a tiny (if any) benefit while those that apparently showed an effect have ended up discredited or even retracted for bad methodologies, incongruent data, etc.
Giving drugs with known risks and no proven benefit to people at home is the opposite of solving this problem, the real solution was abandoned from months ago when the resources needed for an overhauling of the public health system and control of the pandemic were used instead in projects like the Olympic games.
hatsufred
I have absolute contempt for a J gov and hospitals system that treat ANY patient in this manner.
Antiquesaving
And then when they die at home and are over 65 no autopsies so covid will not be the cause of death.
Brilliant 2 birds with one stone, officially lower hospitalisation and fewer recorded covid related deaths.
tooheysnew
so you’ve been staying in for the last 18 months ?
Oxycodin
The gold medal winner is Suga in race to be the last country to fight off covid. All his SOE were useless and pointless. Force everyone to telework as most companies all have a laptop and a VPN to there network. That would help the crazy train of squashed sardines commute every morning and night.
Sven Asai
That’s irresponsible, because in some cases, the situation gets dramatically bad in a very short time. The patients only cough a bit and suddenly the real COVID-19 attacks leave them breathless, O2-undersupplied and of course they are only crouching on the floor then and are not capable anymore of calling an ambulance or other immediate help. They should have built those temporary container hospitals like they could be seen in Wuhan. That would have enabled patient surveillance, immediate help in acute situations and of course no normal hospitals or doctors would have been affected, so that other treatments , cancers or heart diseases for example, also wouldn’t have needed to be postponed. That’s all not new after so many pandemic months, but nothing is done and you guess it, also won’t be done now.
Fiddlers
They only had a year and a half to make some temporary hospitals like China and the UK did last year especially as they know most private hospitals here don't want to deal with Covid patients.
What's wrong with this government, why can't they be smart for once.
CS
I took a long time, but now Japan is on the sucks list.
GW
So the govt KNOWING what happened already in Osaka say YEAH, lets do the same in Kanto, tell people with covid to stay home, continue to spread the virus, possibly get worse & possibly die......I have no words....
One thing covid has done is CLEARLY shone a light on the problem of Japan Public & Private medical systems.....they CANNOT coordinate anything on a large scale, but we all have known this since forever, we have all read about those who have a heart attack or are pregnant that have to order taxi & then go to 10-15 hospitals\clinics trying to find some help
So yeah this PROBLEM has been known for decades, but alas as usual, nothing being done!
Phil
My wife is a visitor nurse here, which mean she treats people house bound or who need follow up treatment after release from hospital. Back at Golden Week, if a person in the household had been outside the Prefecture or had someone visiting from outside the Prefecture, she had to wear full PPE. This would mean getting dressed up in PPE and taking it back off on each patients doorstep.
To say that the atmosphere in our house is tense at the moment, is an understatement. As other people have commented, the government have had so long to plan for this. To have a plan ready to go and have the resources, field hospitals in place.
Now we are at the Summer holiday, people will be travelling back to home towns. Already patients are advising of visitors from outside the Prefecture or family member travelling. PPE will have to be worn again and also the worry of how they will be able to fit in home visits to treat Covid patients.
while I’m here, how about the government doing something about letting medical staff feel they can take the annual vacation allowance.
hmmm1
For those saying, "What is the Government thinking" Just look at Suga's face. The height of intelligence..NOT.
HBJ
'Flak'!
If only we could upgrade this to 'venomous outrage' we might have a chance at getting rid of these inept old men.
Superhero
The Japanese government policy to only allow COVID-19 patients with severe symptoms to be hospitalized to prevent a hospital bed shortage
What a shame for a G7 country
Btw does this rule also apply for LDP politican abd their family members?
shogun36
Or how about, you know, building more medical facilities?
Or did you “spend” all the tax money on the Olympics already, building aquatic centers and unnecessary stadiums?
Stop embezzling and skimming off the top and start doing something useful, for the first time ever.
Sanjinosebleed
Definitely should be decided by hospital staff but in a country where people with a mild cold or flu go to hospital to get saline drips I think this Is not such a bad idea. Again as long as a medical professional makes the call
didou
At first, Japan’s policy was also to put everyone in hospitals, and this was also a non sense. Now, what’s the balance when too many infected ?
yesterday, an article was mentioning the health system collapse in Osaka. However, according to NHK data, the hospitals bed occupancy for covid patients, severe and mid symptoms, is around 25 %, far from collapsing, Who to believe?
only Okinawa and Tokyo have an occupancy rate over 50 %
in Japan, hospitals collapse just refers to hospitals treating covid patients, not all the others.
but it is a shame many will not accept patients
ats
As a suggestion, there are enough open spaces in school auditoriums and there is time to prepare oxygen facilities. Each ward should inform its residents to reach the covid center first and then let the field staff decide if they need more than oxygen.
If people start to panic then it will be worse...if they see a plan in place, they will participate.
irreconcilable
Maybe the government can circumvent the influx to the hospital by putting a block on people's bank accounts temporarily so they stay home.
willie_html
What a trash country with garbage ruling party.
carpslidy
Makes sense.
Almost every country is now doing the same.
ReasonandWisdomNippon
Yes I'm sure Mr Suga has a double agenda like some of you say.
He wants people to die?
Get citizens severely hurt because of covid?
Keep going, tell us how his benefiting from this or who is pulling his strings.
Antiquesaving
carpslidyToday 10:22 am JST
Either you only know one developed country (Japan) or you only know underdeveloped countries.
This is not what has been done in Canada, the UK, or the EU.
geronimo2006
Hmmm. Don't like where this is going. If the govt has to backpedal on this stupid proposal which looks very likely then the only way Suga & clowns can restrict admissions to hospital is to make testing criteria even tighter. In other words, you might not get a test unless you have severe symptoms. Watch testing numbers. Not good.
limespider
"Please die at home while watching the Olympics, you ungrateful lot".
Antiquesaving
ReasonandWisdomNipponToday 10:26 am JST
Well my Japanese wife has a theory.
She wonders if he is being given poor advice, then when things go horribly wrong, someone behind the scene pops up or "returns" to save the day just in time for the elections.
carpslidy
AntiquesavingToday 10:26 am JST
carpslidyToday 10:22 am JST
What are you talking about? Most people in the us, uk, eu are told to recover at home.
Nadrew
And then when they die at home…no autopsies so covid will not be the cause of death.
and there you have the real playbook
kanapi
Things came from Japan's medicine association! the gov. led by LDP has a close tie with that association, so they are listening to the doctors sides. This is a real reason that the number of clinics and hospitals is not increasing enough to soften emergency.
noriahojanen
Elitist medical associations/med guilds and negligent private clinics are also to blame for overwhelming healthcare system while I am grateful to frontline workers engaging in covid warfare.
There are currently 300,000 beds empty and available, which however have yet to be "converted" or designated for covid patients (due mostly to hesitancy and resistance from hospitals).
空き30万病床の転用進まず
https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGKKZO74377320Q1A730C2EA2000/?unlock=1
According to a Nikkei report above, some hospitals keep refusing the admission of covid patients even though receiving state subsidy for cooperation.
ある病院関係者は「政府の補助金を受けて病床を確保しながら、積極的に患者を受けない病院がある」と明かす。
If they were restaurants and bars cheating on state programmes, public outrage and punishment would be inevitable. Again, under the nationwide crisis why are they exempted? Notice that they are privileged and fast-tracked to get fully vaccinated ahead of general populace.
Flute
Perhaps something got lost in translation, as they were non medical experts. They same the 3 categories on some WHO documents : non-severe ; severe ; critical and thought it matched their mild ; moderate ; serious ; without noticing that their own moderate has 2 level. The higher one being most likely "severe" when their "serious" one is actually "critical".
https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/photo/40201974
https://app.magicapp.org/#/guideline/j1WBYn
https://www.covid19treatmentguidelines.nih.gov/overview/clinical-spectrum/
Severe and critical should be in hospital, period. Even just having mild/moderate 1 at home, is pretty risky, and they already know it.
https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14410747
As said before, just create emergency hospital. School are out, lets sort out all which have aircon, ask the teachers to empty these and put beds &co, then give them real long vacation at home. Start sending patients. The inside of the room can be seen from the corridor, meaning the people in charge of monitoring can check without entering thus having to spend lot of time getting in and out of PPE.
JMin
I agree with Phil. Government has had 1.5+years to figure out how to deal with the hospital situation. To just limit the sick people that can go to the hospital is not governing.
If Japanese government officials worked for a company they would be fired, then probably sued by the shareholders.
Same story with the vaccination program (after vaccines were available for 6 months, gov. suddenly said that companies should administer their own vaccinations)
Beto Ramirez
When his own LDP party members have complained about his performance, you know there’s something REALLY bad about him
virusrex
This is of course very obvious disinformation, not only because the actual frequent side effects are minor, and less dangerous than the infection but because vaccines are not gene therapy in any sense of the term nor the vaccinated people have any compromise in the immune system, finally the PMDA approval of the vaccines do not qualify them as experimental, so that part is also false.
yes it is.
https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/why-you-should-not-use-ivermectin-treat-or-prevent-covid-19
At the end, using naturalnews as a source is a sure sign of an effort to disinform people, the site is a frequent source of false/mistaken information and easily proved so, if something is written there it is more likely to be false than true.
Both extremes are wrong, hospitalizing asymptomatic cases is bad, but not hospitalizing patients that have respiratory distress is even worse, because that is a very clear indication for hospitalization. The actual thing that other countries are doing and that work is that letting the decision of who has to be hospitalized or not to the specialists that can make a professional evaluation of the patients, not politicians that have no idea of the risks and needs that complicate the situation.
Alan Bogglesworth
The look on this guys face just says, "I don't give a damn what I say, or what you think, because you all know I'm getting re-elected".
Skipp
Despicable, yet nothing new.
In reality, from the beginning, all the people actually infected with COVID-19 but refused PCR tests and hospitalization after a surge in severe symptoms have already been dealing with this since the pandemic first started in Japan.
I am one of those people. I still think back on my own experience with deep anger at the injustice. Especially when I found out how many others had gone through the same.
I'm amazed that it's only now, when it's being said out loud, that it draws flack. It should have done so from the beginning, when people in need of help were turned away and left to either survive or die at home.
But I guess better late than never for people to be angry about this injustice.
purple_depressed_bacon
They've had well over a year to prepare for this scenario. What exactly have they been doing? And why does Suga always look like a deer in the headlights in every picture taken of him? Could he not at least pretend he has the situation under control?
limespider
"Fuji TV reports at least 8 people infected with COVID and quarantined at home have died in Tokyo in August alone. All of them were men and the age was between their 30s and 50s." Source: Satoshi Sugiyama, The Japan Times.
daito_hak
Do you even understand the words you use? Distress means that patients would be in serious danger and in peril. I don’t think that the government is saying that such patients should not be hospitalized. The issue is about moderate patients. For mild patients, this is clear, they shouldn’t be hospitalized.
Moderate patients are classified into two groups. Moderate I - who have difficulty breathing and have signs of pneumonia; and moderate II - who can’t breathe sufficiently on their own. Moderate II patients will presumably continue to be hospitalized. Moderate I patients will be hospitalized depending on whether they are at risk for further complications.
You can then argue whether this is an adequate decision. But stop throwing words randomly without fully understanding the issue.
virusrex
As usual you are trying to correct something that is not mistaken in the first place. Respiratory distress in not the same as ARDS, which is what you are referring to. People having problems breathing (as in the article) can be validly be described as having respiratory stress, even if they don't fulfill the requirements for a full ARDS.
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/signs-of-respiratory-distress
You really need to familiarize yourself better with the terminology, this is the "escape mutants" thing all over again.
CS
That is correct but if you are sick and close to death, even if there are no hospital beds available, the hospitals in the U.S. will find a bed and set you up in the hallway or parking lot or.........they will not turn you away, unlike the 12 bed rule in Japan. Hospitals in Japan are mostly for show, because the doctors and nurses are basically still in school at the hospital and lack the skill and determination to save a humans life.
HJSLLS
This is why you don’t hold the Olympics while struggling with a national health crisis. The Olympics is competing for healthcare resources from the Covid fight. This should never happen while holding games that could have been postponed or cancelled. Now certain people will become critically ill and potentially die because they were not being allowed hospital care. Suga, where are your priorities?
resources Resources are taken away what I’ve been saying all along — the Olympics is
kyronstavic
Patients testing positive with zero or mild symptoms when first diagnosed COULD be given ivermectin and/or other drugs in combination proven to work, no matter what virusrex claims otherwise, and sent home. If they get worse, come back for further treatment.
But this crisis is not about saving lives. It's about asserting control.
Hideomi Kuze
Present Japan's Suga had repeated empty promises as PM about Covid-19 since last September.
He could realize nothing.
Before Olympics, he said that he prevents infection spreading during Olympics.
But actual state is worst since 2020.
Japan's Suga government is using present difficult situation as excuse, but who deteriorated situation is government themselves.
But they don't even apology despite own misstep that optimism caused.
They don't hear even opinions from experts who government itself chose.
Incompetent Suga government pushes more risk to general public only to do not admit own misstep.
Hideomi Kuze
↑ sorry, it is technical issue.
Monty
the actual frequent side effects are minor
This is complete Nonsens!
I had my 2 shots already and I can tell you, that the side effects are very far away from being minor.
Tell that to all my colleagues here, who were absent for 2 days from work because they struggled with side effects.
Again another post which is complete out of reality!
audioboy77
Absolutely shocking state of affairs. To my knowledge no other developed country has had to take this measure. We knew it already but it again proves how badly this situation has been mismanaged here. Especially as they got lucky initially and have had so much time to to prepare for this. Just total incompetence.
Zaphod
What is that even supposed to mean? Moderately ill people do not need ventilators. Ventilator are a radical and last step for extreme cases. Where has this guy been?
virusrex
That is the think ivermectin has not been proved to work, and now the data actually indicates the opposite, that it confers no advantage to people suffering from COVID. The think with scientific proof is that there are well established parameters to decide if the data is of good or bad quality, the best quality data (coming from large, detailed studies without strange problems with the methods and results) say this advice is worthless.
Guess what? in comparison with the side effects antivaxxer propaganda loves to use in their disinformation (death, permanent disabilities, etc), chills, malaise or pain for a couple of days actually mean very minor side effects.
The long term effects of the tehcnology (which is not experimental according to the PMDA) are much better known than for COVID, because it has been used in humans for many years already, while COVID has been infecting people for less than two, and the infection is being related with more and more problems almost every week.
If the spike protein is what worries you that means the vaccine is a much safer option compared with the infection, because the virus produces much more of that protein in the body and for much longer time.
Fortunately the "spooky resemblance" is just disinformation.
https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-factcheck-syncytin/fact-check-available-mrna-vaccines-do-not-target-syncytin-1-a-protein-vital-to-successful-pregnancies-idUSKBN2A42S7
Raw Beer
Yes, and some places have had good success with that approach. It has been known for a while that any infected person should be treated early. They don't all need to be hospitalized but they should at the very least be given certain safe and effective drugs at the first sign of infection, whether its ivermectin, HCQ+azithromycin, ...
And pharma has funded a number of trials intentionally designed to show that these meds are unsafe and ineffective. Instead of given low doses early on, as all experts recommend, they basically overdose patients in the late stages of disease (e.g. RECOVERY trial). It really does look like they are doing their best to make these drugs unavailable because they want to push everyone to get the vaccine.
Nadrew
There is a moving target about what is a severe case of Covid. The government is moving the goalposts.
With the rapidity of onset of life threatening conditions with Covid, not having enough beds is criminal. Please set up field hospital beds for the moderate to severe cases.
Exactly what is the criteria for “serious cases hospitalized?”
People need Oxygen. Is there enough?
People need ICU care. What is the bar for admission? How many ICU beds? Utilization?
People need intubation.
I suspect the government is moving towards intubation = serious hospitalized. Is this another level beyond ICU?
Does anyone have any insight on what the government now considers a severe case in hospital?
justasking
So make more medical care available. In other countries, they built makeshift hospitals. Sometimes I feel this country is just so stupid.
jiji Xx
to do less......
virusrex
This is also just disinformation, there is no recognized institute of science or medicine in the world that defends these drugs as effective in the treatment of COVID, anti-scientific groups would want to convince people that all scientists and doctors in the world are in a conspiracy to supposedly hide these even from their own friends and family, this is of course just nonsense excuses from people that can't accept that science have not found them effective.
If the scientific consensus say something, and people that have repeatedly being wrong and have no data say the opposite it is easy to know which side is incorrect.
Sana Hamaya
Japan's government levy tax or national health insurance premium from citizen.
But they cannot provide enough healthcare services to citizen and denied hospitalization of patients except very serious symptom.
They are irresponsible.
Pukey2
If the LDP is not voted out this year, then there is something seriously wrong about this country. It's like the poor, unhealthy american republican voters who continue to vote for a party which couldn't give a damn about them and is secretly laughing at their stupidity
Paul
Ignorance and stupidity 101
Flute
@Nadrew
Here :
https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/photo/40201974
@daito_hak
Please provide links attesting the government actually said people with serious and moderate 2 will systematically be given a hospital bed plus people deemed at risk and not people with serious plus people deemed at risk and people hooked at a ventilator which is the upper form of moderate 2 which include also people needing oxygen bottle (perhaps also people needing access to home care ventilator will be excluded of hospitalization).
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/08/04/national/omi-japan-coronavirus-policy-shift/
@Lovecrafting
Because it seems obvious the doctor are not just going to say bye bye to their patient without providing them with medicine, oxygen bottle and whatever they deem necessary to. As it is also obvious that these person will be followed one way of another by medical related person (visit, phone call, Internet). The problem as said several time is that, the illness can deteriorate pretty quickly making the person unable to get help fast enough to ensure survival, if they even are able to seek help.
Seesaw7
Gov't policy to only hospitalize critical COVID patients draws flak
I am speechless. Suga must go! But who else is capable of the job?
Nickee
It seems that Japan is next to live the situation that Europe faced during march 2020.
That's a pity, because in this year and a half, the government did nothing and didn't learn from Western countries.
Now, the only way to stop the transmission chain is to do a real lockdown, close business and shops that are not necessary, ease smartworking, support workers and closed companies with money (oh if only the J-gov could have in the pocket the Olympics money) and start the tracking activity.
And, in the meantime, upgrade the vaccination system in a more smarter way.
No other way could work.
virusrex
There is no problem because this is not happening, trying very hard to ignore actual meta-analysis and huge studies with well designed protocols and detailed methodologies just because they conclude the opposite of what you want to believe (and instead using sources that can't pass peer review, ignore completely valid criticisms and don't weight differences in the studies) is not a valid argument to say they work. It only shows a lack of understanding of how to evaluate scientific evidence.
Numan
Tokyo has 5000 infections today or yesterday. There are probably clusters now in places like Shibuya, Harajuku, Shinjuku, and Ikebukuro.
I am constantly seeing idiots mostly young and middle age adults/couples walking around Tokyo with no masks during the day.
J-gov is truly leaderless, corrupt, and incompetent; however, the population who is also clueless that does nothing to change it is also to blame.
Luddite
Not true, zero evidence for this.
It’s interesting how people try to discredit the vaccines by pretending they haven’t been properly tested, yet promote the untested and untrialled Ivermectin.
Pukey2
He must be cursing Abe!
Disillusioned
Is there a single thing that this government did right?
When people were short on masks they took an absurd amount of time to deliver masks so that by the time the masks arrived nobody needed them anymore.
All the apps they’ve created, especially the laughable Cocoa failed miserably. (The other tracking ones were also buggy as reported on news.) And they didn’t even know Cocoa wasn’t working till months after. A friend of mine recently recovered from Covid and his Cocoa still says “haven’t been in contact with anyone positive in past 14 days.”
When hospitals and 保健所 were overwhelmed during peaks they weren’t ever ready. News of people dying a sudden death at home without an oximeter to track their health condition (this was months ago) was just indicative of how incompetent they were. Back in January 2020, a New York Times article that was translated into Japanese already highlighted the importance of oximeters, yet they couldn’t bring themselves to prepare in advance.
Just when I thought they finally did something right by passing the baton to private corporations to take over parts of the vaccination drive, the vaccine supply problem came up.
Then they held the Olympics and helped people to take their minds off Covid and gather and spread the virus. And now this. If it were a private company they would have been fired and sued ten times and if this were a more riotous country people would have stormed in the parliament etc and hung them.
Pathetic.
Bill Adams
How on earth can people criticise a decision to make the best use of resources and ensure that beds are available for critically ill patients? Sometimes - well, most of the time, actually - I wonder what planet some of the people here are on.
The real question is whether there are enough hospital beds in Japan for the size of the population. How does the figure compare with other countries? I genuinely don't know this, so would be interested to learn the facts. If there are too few beds, then that is what should be criticised, not this inevitable and justified response to the existing situation.
TARA TAN KITAOKA
WHY are we paying taxes???