The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare announced record numbers of patients using medical facilities throughout the country during the week of January 15 to 21. The report looked at 5,000 fixed-point medical institutions nationwide and recorded that each facility was averaging nearly 52 patients. This is considerably higher than the warning level, which is set at 30 patients per medical institution, and the highest average since the current survey went into effect in 1999. The number of patients across Japan was estimated at 2.83 million, an increase of 1.1 million from the previous week. Figures were high in prefectures throughout Kyushu with Kagoshima recording nearly 87 patients per fixed-point medical institution. Numbers were also high in Miyazaki (85), Fukuoka (84), Oita (82), and Saga (70). Type B influenza, which is usually more prevalent during February and March, has spread earlier than usual this year. People are currently contracting multiple types of influenza, which increased the number of patients at medical institutions. Doctors called for caution in order to prevent type B, which mainly affects youngsters, spreading from children to adults and the elderly. Source: Asahi Shimbun, 1/26/2018
Photo of a hospital in Fukuoka City, for image purpose only. Source: そらみみ
Disclaimer: Fukuoka Now posts summaries of Kyushu area related news for the benefit of those who cannot read Japanese. Contents posted here are mostly summaries of publicly posted news stories from Japanese media organizations. Errors might occur during translation. Those errors are ours, and not the news source’s. Photos and images are sourced separately and are for illustrative purposes only. Please use this form to send feedback and questions.