Japan’s Osaka city is buckling a new wave of Coronavirus pandemic. There are not enough ventilators and beds in the hospitals. Doctors warn it as a ‘system collapse’.
COVID-19 Fourth Wave in Japan’s Osaka City
Osaka city is home to almost 9 million Japanese. The city is currently witnessing the fourth pandemic wave. Japan is going to host a major global sports event, the Olympics this summer. However, it seems that it has to go on hold for now. So far, only 50 percent of Japanese medical staff have completed inoculations. Yuji Tohda, Kindai University Hospital’s director said that this is a medical system collapse.
The highly infectious British variant has led to this explosive growth in Japan. Japan had very carefully managed the COVID-19 situation than other countries. But the fourth wave seems quite different. 3849 people tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday in Japanese, the highest count in months. It is approximately a more than five-fold jump in three months.
Hospitalization Rate
Osaka city has 348 hospitals. The hospitalization rate in Tokyo is 37 percent. Meanwhile, only 14 percent of the region’s 13,770 patients are hospitalized. The rest are left to fend for themselves. It is a dreadful situation in Japan right now. Since March, 17 people have died outside hospitals due to bed unavailability.
Youngsters Most Affected This Time
Toshiaki Minami, OMPUH director expressed his concern over the situation. OMPUH stands for Osaka city Medical and Pharmaceutical University Hospital. He said that the new variant is making young people sick. Once seriously ill, they are hardly recovering. Everyone is equally bearing the risk. Youngsters thought they are invincible to the virus. But they aren’t this time.
Osaka City Facing Supply Shortage
Osaka City is running low on propofol, a drug used to sedate intubated patients. The hospitals are also running low on ventilators for severely ill patients. Moreover, the nursing staff is at high risk. They come in direct contact with seriously ill persons. Even the ICU beds are full. 140 seriously ill COVID-19 patients died in the ICU. Doctors and nurses are all doing overtime. They are under extreme pressure.
Olympics to Go on Hold
Most probably, the Olympics this year will go on hold. The British variant is now dominant in Japan and its Osaka city. Moreover, they are also concerned about the Indian variant. The WHO has already declared the Indian variant fatal and deadly. In the Olympics, 70,000-80,000 athletes will come from various countries. This might trigger another disaster in the country. Henceforth, it is better to cancel the Olympics this year.
