Cases of hospitals in Japan turning away patients on ambulance transports, mostly because they are suspected of being infected with the new coronavirus, increased more than fivefold in April from a year earlier, a survey by Kyodo News showed Saturday.
The survey underscores how the virus is also affecting the scene of emergency care, with medical facilities increasingly wary of in-hospital infections due to COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus, making it harder for general patients with such symptoms to get the proper treatment.
The number of emergency cases in which medical institutions were asked four or more times whether they can accept patients with symptoms typical of COVID-19 such as fever and difficulty in breathing between April 1 and 27 jumped to 2,705 from 483 in the same period in 2019, according to the survey.
Data were available from the Tokyo Fire Department and 31 prefectural capitals' fire departments out of the country's 47 prefectures. Fire departments are in charge of ambulance transport services in Japan.
A similar survey conducted by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications which covered patients with all sorts of symptoms showed that the figure in late April almost doubled from a year ago.
According to the Kyodo News survey, 19 out of the 32 fire departments saw an increase in the number of such cases, with that of Tokyo at 1,733, an increase of more than eightfold from 207.
Asked in a multiple-choice question about the reasons for patient rejection, 23 fire departments answered that the people were suspected of COVID-19 infection and six replied that there were not enough hospital beds available due to the virus outbreak.
Nine said multiple medical facilities have stopped accepting urgent care patients, while 24 urged that the government strengthen safety measures to prevent rescue workers from being infected with the virus.
