Osaka asks citizens for raincoats amid shortage of protective gear

How did it come to this? Ridiculous.

This bad with only 8000 cases. Imagine if they actually tested people, and knew the real rate of infection.

All under control? Last time I head that a roof blew off a nuclear power plant.

They have had months to prepare for this. This really shows up the bloated and inefficient beaurocrats that Japan has. Time to promote some smarter people to key positions instead of the present system.

This is a classic case of Japan seeing itself as watching a Taigan no kaji (a fire on the opposite bank) and thinking it would be spared the worst of the pandemic. Of course no one will be called upon to take responsibility.

How did it come to this so quickly? What will happen if (dare I say when) it gets way worse

Japanese city have no choice but to wear trash bags when treating patients.

Welcome to the new third world

The Osaka city government said it will accept raincoats of any type and color but they have to be unused.

at the risk of being incendiaire, my imagination is taking me to hilarious places right now

The shortage of PPE is global. But raincoats instead of gowns is a new one. Do they get washed after each use or binned?

Were the city and national politicians living under a rock for the past several months when these exact same issues were playing out in virtually every other nation on earth?

Seriously??? Osaka has less than 1000 corona virus patients and the health care system is already in dire straits??

Where does all our tax dollars go???? Unfreakin-believable!!

Wow ok, thats some contrast! If you wanna cause panic, have everyone realize you haven’t got anything u need.

You need the public to bring their raincoats? I nearly walked to the closet to get mine when I read this.

Wouldn't the SDF have stockpiles of these sorts of things? Particularly now, forward planning for the Olympics and all.

The Osaka city government said it will accept raincoats of any type and color

Awesome. I'll do my part and send them my...

but they have to be unused.

Oh... That narrows the field somewhat.

The 4th economy in the world and it can not produce enough medical gear and masks to treat 8000 patients extra. For over a month a citizen or resident can not buy a mask.

mand government talks and talks and talks...

abe had stockpiled 'Tokyo Olympic' pin badges and he was adamant that he wasn't gonna stock up on PPE coz the Olympics had to go ahead!

yes I am being sarcastic.

asking people for their rain coats...

we are all doomed lol

Like a third world country. Japan had at least three months to prepare for this.

These cheap raincoats are sold at 100 yen shops, of course made in China. Garbage bags, raincoats,,,, seem very last decision.

Send your share of abenomask back to abe, and get a refund. Use that money to buy medical supplies.

If this wasn’t such a tragic situation it would even be comic.

Instead it’s very serious and frankly very preoccupying.

If a city with millions of people like Osaka can’t handle a situation with still a very officially “low” numbers of cases then I can’t imagine when the situation will get worse.

Well,this all depends if the propaganda will keep the numbers intentionally low.

Me too, I've bought those Daiso raincoats before. How about those?

Don't panic guys, Japan is holding on well as seen with the number of infections and the death rate which are extremely low. The medical system is one of the best in world, it won't collapse like in Italy or New York.

Well, just repeating what exoerts have been telling us and boosting our national pride. Reminds me of comical Ali.

Most of equipments, supplies and masks do come from China.

And the world is now making the same orders

Uh... Daiso?

So, they only lad since at least January 31st to get ready, by my count about 10 weeks. We’re not even at the vertical part of the curve and running out of PPE.

This is what governmental and institutional incompetence looks like.

And hospitals instead of improvising will just turn patients away. “We’re not equipped. We’re full.”’ People are going to die in the streets.

Expat

In all fairness, the government only had three months to prepare...

How long should we give the government?

The greatest achievement after 3 months is 2 mask that won't even filter dust.

I now understand why Abe's rating is still above 40%

Pathetic, Shin khun, time for another stomach ache.......

"The Osaka city government requested Tuesday that citizens offer unused raincoats as an alternative to protective gear that is in short supply at medical institutions amid a surge in coronavirus infections."

Nah. Although they've done a better job at being truthful than Tokyo, and even pointed out that had the priority not been the Olympics there would have been more attention paid to Corona virus and better measures put in place, they have had plenty of time to prepare. And yet, my neighbor is still complaining he has to cook and clean himself because his wife wants to stay in the hospital for an extra month for her sprained ankle she got month ago. I know they have a tense relationship, and she hasn't gotten along with him since retirement (well, less than usual, anyway), but if Osaka and the nation is concerned about shortages in general, they need to start prioritizing. My example is but one of how they are not, following a week or so after the article about the warning of the collapse of the medical industry WELL before this is even near a peak, and after they've had months from the initial outbreak to prepare.

"If doctors get infected, we can never beat coronavirus," 

I think everyone should get over the idea that this is beatable and start preparing for a year of this.

Just saying, but you can get not-Goretex-but-very-similar rainwear at the cheapo overalls store "Workman" in Japan for 5000 yen a set. North Face/Patagonia won't be much different and probably four-five times the price. Well, maybe longer sleeves due to Western sizing. I do not recommend intentionally hiking in the rain, but if you are out and get caught, the Workman stuff is fine.

How about cutting the bags off instead of pulling them over the head?

Of course no one will be called upon to take responsibility.

Businesses will use 'force majeure'. Curious if Abe and cronies will echo Trump's 'I'm not responsible for that'.

The world has gone stark raving mad.

Used coats are no good, even clean ones. Each person has different ideas of cleanliness, what might be. Hospitals cannot take a risk.

3m ago 08:39

The Japanese city of Osaka has issued an urgent plea for citizens to donate plastic raincoats to hospitals running short of protective gear for staff treating coronavirus patients, with some doctors resorting to wearing garbage bags. 

Japan last week imposed a state of emergency in Tokyo and six other areas, including Osaka, but the number of cases has continued to rise, now standing at around 8,200, with 166 deaths. 

By Wednesday afternoon there were nearly 900 cases in Osaka city and the prefecture that surrounds it, making it the second hardest-hit after Tokyo, media said. 

Desperately trying to bridge the gap in supplies of protective gowns for its hospitals, a notice on the Osaka city web site said any colour and style of raincoat was acceptable, including ponchos, as long as they were meant for adults. 

Ichiro Matsui, Osaka’s mayor, told a gathering in the city on Tuesday that medical facilities were running dangerously short of all sorts of protective gear. 

> Some people are even wearing garbage bags. We ask anybody who has unused plastic raincoats in their house, or who might have a stockpile of them, to please get in touch.

Japanese medical workers have been warning for weeks that the medical system could soon be pushed to the brink, with nurses telling Reuters they were unsure whether their hospitals had enough advanced PPE such as N95 masks and plastic gowns. Some in Tokyo said they had been told to reuse masks. 

The health minister, Katsunobu Kato, met with industry leaders last week, pressing them to ramp up production of masks and other key medical supplies. 

Amid the shortage, social media users said they were starting to receive the reusable cloth face masks that the prime minister, Shinzo Abe, pledged to send two weeks ago to every household in Japan, a plan widely ridiculed on social media. 

Under the hashtag ‘Two Masks’ - a reference to the number of masks being distributed to each household regardless of the number of residents - many Twitter users said they appeared too small for adults to use and were a waste of tax money when other things, such as subsidies, were needed.

Osaka City begging for 100yen raincoats yet is spending billions to host EXPO.

They are not asking for them because they can't afford them, they are asking because they are not able to find suppliers.

I have a few Hanshin Tigers raincoats. Doctors can rep their area while working on patients. lol

They can use all of stored Nippon Professional Baseball (日本野球機構) championship T-shirts that the Hanshin Tigers have been storing for over the past 15 years.

Those tiny little 3cm x 3cm masks are not budgeted yet. He is getting there. I think we should all send them back to his residence. Sort of like the letters to Santa in the movie Miracle on 34th Street.

When did the rain start pounding?

"We'd like to seek cooperation from those who have raincoats that have never been used"

How about used raincoats that have been cleaned? No good?

What's better, a cleaned used raincoat or nothing?

What about a link about the official announcement ? There is most likely lot of people willing to hoard usefull but if you do not tell them what is needed that will go waste.

Regarding getting your hand on material at cheap cost if not free, dear Mayor/Governor, why about offering business willung to help to subside for their staff under unemployment benefit without need for firing and free/uncommon advertisement space. Start with Nishinomyia no French Decathlon should be a language they understand as it is the one talked by French government, it seems. An as their brand diving mask can be converted in emergency respirator mask that will solve further trouble.

Oh, and when they're still not doing a complete lockdown.

Osaka City begging for 100yen raincoats yet is spending billions to host EXPO.

Yesterday I had a video conference with my friend who lives in Osaka. And he's very afraid for his wife's health. Since she has to go to work. Although his company will soon start with teleworking.

At the moment my friend is at home taking care of his daughter. Since the school where he works granted him a leave of absence for lack of activity. And you only have to go twice a week to plan a possible re-opening of the school year. In the meetings with the director.

He was able to get surgical masks from the pharmacy after ordering them 2 weeks ago. At a much more expensive price than usual. He can be said to have been lucky.

Deja vu—We’ve heard these kinds of desperate appeal for PPE donations last month in the US from state governors, mayors and individual hospitals. When it gets to the point that healthcare staff have to re-use their face masks and wear trash bags when dealing with masses of infected patients, that’s simply not going to be effective.

In the past 2 months, many brave US, Italian, UK, Spanish, Chinese, etc. physicians and nurses have died of Coronavirus contracted from their patients. All because of a lack of adequate PPE that their governments at various levels and for various reasons have not provided.

Nations like Russia, Brazil, and Japan appear not to have learned the lessons of the past few months. Sadly their healthcare workers will now bear the brunt of this ignorance.

To prevent cross-infection, medical workers must discard protective clothing, gloves and masks after a single PCR test.

It is common sense that there is a shortage of PPE.

Why not also used raincoats if they're that desperate? All you have to do is check them for any holes and wash them once before starting use.