Osaka virus patients dying at home as medical system buckles under strain of COVID-19 wave
As Osaka Prefecture's medical system creaks under the strain of a rapid rise in COVID-19 cases, people being treated at home are dying before they can be sent to hospitals.
The prefecture on Thursday established "a waiting facility" in the city of Osaka where people taken by ambulances can be placed until a hospital is found.
At times, patients in ambulances have had to wait for several hours before they can be admitted to hospitals. The prefecture hopes that by setting up a waiting facility, more ambulances can be dispatched for people in need, officials said.
In Kobe, a male coronavirus patient in his 40s was found dead at home on Tuesday night. He was waiting to be admitted to a hospital.