OSAKA – Hospitals here are buckling under a huge wave of new coronavirus disease 2019 infections, running out of beds and ventilators as exhausted doctors warn of a “system collapse,” and advice against holding the Olympics this summer.
Japan’s second largest city is suffering the brunt of the fourth wave of the pandemic, accounting for a third of the nation’s death toll in May, although it constitutes just seven percent of its population.
The speed at which Osaka’s healthcare system was overwhelmed underscores the challenges of hosting a major global sports event in two months’ time, particularly as only about half of Japan’s medical staff completed inoculations.
Japan has avoided the large infections suffered by other nations, but the fourth pandemic wave took Osaka prefecture by storm, with 3,849 new positive tests in the week to Thursday.(Reuters)
