TOKYO (TR) – A man in serious condition due to symptoms of COVID-19 was turned away by dozens of hospitals last week, it has been learned, reports TBS News (Aug. 2).
According to persons with knowledge of the matter, the man, aged in his 50s, had tested positive for the novel coronavirus, which causes the disease COVID-19.
Last week, he alerted emergency services when he began having difficulty breathing. However, the ambulance was turned away by about 100 hospitals.
Early the next day, about eight hours after he placed the call, he was accepted at a hospital about 50 kilometers away.
According to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, there were 698 cases of coronavirus patients having to wait more than 30 minutes for admittance to a hospital during the week of July 4, an increase of 1.6 times over the previous week.
On July 31, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government recorded 4,058 coronavirus cases in the capital, the first time the daily figure exceeded 4,000.
