Covid cases continue to surge in Cambodia, Thailand and India; reports emerge of Brazilian health workers forced to intubate patients without sedatives; Japan to extend Covid restrictions to 10 regions
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Japan is set to raise the coronavirus alert level in Tokyo’s three neighbouring prefectures and a forth area in central Japan to allow tougher measures as a more contagious coronavirus variant spreads, along with doubts whether the Olympics can go ahead, AP reports.
The move comes only four days after Tokyo was placed on alert while the vaccination campaign has covered less than 1% of the population.
The government is expected to official approve the alert status for Kanagawa, Saitama and Chiba and Aichi prefectures in central Japan at a meeting later Friday. It will allow heads of the prefectures to mandate shorter hours for bars and restaurants, along with punishments for violators and compensation for those who comply.
The measures are to begin Monday and continue through 11 May.
Many of the cases have been linked to nightlife and dining spots, but they have recently spread to offices, elderly care facilities and schools.
Japan added some 4,300 cases on Wednesday for a total of about half a million with 9,500 deaths.
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said the measures cover the areas hit by rapid spikes fueled by a new virus variant first detected in the U.K.. “The government will respond firmly even during my US trip,” he said before departing for Washington for talks with President Joe Biden.
Suga’s government has been criticized for being too slow in enacting anti-virus measures out of reluctance to further damage the economy.
The surge has also prompted concern among many Japanese about hosting the Tokyo Olympics 23 July to 8 August. On Thursday, two top officials said there was a possibility the Games could be canceled or even if they proceed, it might be without fans.
The new alert comes with binding orders but only for businesses to close early while measures for residents are only requests, leading some experts to doubt their effectiveness.
Osaka recently declared a medical emergency after its hospitals became overwhelmed with new cases.
Reports are emerging of Brazilian health workers forced to intubate patients without the aid of sedatives, after weeks of warnings that hospitals and state governments risked running out of critical medicines, AP reports.
One doctor at the Albert Schweitzer municipal hospital in Rio de Janeiro told the Associated Press that for days health workers diluted sedatives to make their stock last longer. Once it ran out, nurses and doctors had to begin using neuromuscular blockers and tying patients to their beds, the doctor said.
“You relax the muscles and do the procedure easily, but we don’t have sedation,” said the doctor, who agreed to discuss the sensitive situation only if not quoted by name. “Some try to talk, resist. They’re conscious.”
Lack of required medicines is the latest pandemic problem to befall Brazil, which is experiencing a brutal Covid outbreak that has flooded the nation’s intensive care units. The daily death count is averaging about 3,000, accounting for a quarter of deaths globally and making Brazil the epicenter of the pandemic.
“Intubation kits” include anesthetics, sedatives and other medications used to put severely ill patients on ventilators. The press office of Rio city’s health secretariat said in an email that occasional shortages at the Albert Schweitzer facility are due to difficulties obtaining supplies on the global market and that “substitutions are made so that there is no damage to the assistance provided.” It didn’t comment on the need to tie patients to beds.
The newspaper O Globo on Thursday reported similar ordeals in several other hospitals in the Rio metropolitan region, with people desperately calling other facilities seeking sedatives for their loved ones.
