Japan appeals to student nurses to fill gaps on hospital wards

Japan’s health ministry has appealed to nursing colleges to send students and staff to hospitals in areas that are witnessing the sharpest increases in coronavirus cases.

With medical staff exhausted from treating growing numbers of people with the virus and others opting to leave the profession due to the pressures, the ministry has asked 280 colleges and universities with nursing programmes to send students who already have some qualifications and teaching staff to hospitals, national broadcaster NHK reported.

The ministry said the nation’s healthcare system is under unprecedented pressure and that it requires the “cooperation” of student nurses.

The panel of experts set up to manage the response to the pandemic has warned that the medical system in Tokyo and the surrounding three prefectures is under “severe strain” and that the 4,000 beds set aside for serious coronavirus cases could be fully occupied within the next two weeks.

There were a record 4,670 new cases in Japan on Tuesday, with the capital Tokyo most severely affected. Across the country, there have been nearly 250,000 cases and the death toll rose to 3,472 as 43 more died on Tuesday.

Despite the vast majority of Japanese wearing masks and generally following recommendations on social distancing, most of the new cases are being linked to bars, restaurants and entertainment venues in the run up to the New Year holidays.

Yoshihide Suga, the prime minister, is expected to declare a limited state of emergency for Tokyo and the surrounding Kanto region on Thursday, with restaurants and bars required to close early or shut down entirely. No decision has been announced on schools or universities.

Japan imposed a soft lockdown in April, initially for Tokyo and the surrounding region before being expanded across the country. Mr Suga has been reluctant to impose extensive limits out of a desire to protect businesses and the economy and it is expected that the state of emergency will be in place for one month.

An analyst with the Dai-Ichi Life Research Institute estimates that a one-month state of emergency will cost 147,000 jobs and hit consumer spending to the tune of Y3.3 trillion (GBP23.6 billion).