A staff member works in an intensive care unit at a hospital that treats COVID-19 patients in Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, in April.

Japan’s dwindling number of hospital beds highlights need to curb COVID-19 cases

Tokyo (Japan Times/ANN) -- More than 90 percent of hospital beds secured for COVID-19 patients in Tokyo have already been occupied, the health ministry has said, underscoring the pressing need to curb the further spread of the novel coronavirus.
The ministry said Sunday that 1,832 COVID-19 patients were hospitalized in the capital as of April 28, or 91.6 percent of the 2,000 beds made available for such patients.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government aims to boost the number of beds for COVID-19 patients to 4,000.
“There is a possibility that the virus will spread further. It is necessary to quickly increase the number of beds from 2,000 to reach the target,” a health ministry official said.
About 5,000 people in Tokyo were confirmed to have been infected with the virus, representing nearly one-third of Japan’s total infections of around 16,000, according to NHK.

(Latest Update May 12, 2020)