KYODO NEWS - Apr 24, 2020 - 22:45 | All, Japan, Coronavirus

Japan's health ministry stepped up its support measures Friday for prefectures to secure accommodations for patients with asymptomatic or mild cases of the novel coronavirus amid a growing number of infections nationwide.

The move, which marks a shift in policy, follows the cases of two men in Saitama Prefecture who were self-isolating at home but died when their conditions suddenly took a turn for the worst. The government had originally recommended people with mild cases of COVID-19 to recuperate in their own homes.

(Photo taken April 24, 2020, shows a room of a hotel in Toyama, central Japan. Toyama Prefecture has rented the hotel for coronavirus patients with mild or no symptoms.)

Working with the Japan Tourism Agency, the ministry will confirm the number of vacant rooms at hotel chains and accommodation facilities across the country, as well as their willingness to cooperate, before passing on the information to local governments.

It has released a manual providing guidelines on the treatment of those with mild symptoms. It is requesting that local governments have a nurse present at all times at the accommodation facility, with a doctor made available via phone.

"Recuperating in a hotel will, by far, allow a faster response should anything (such as a sudden change in condition) happen. We hope to provide information so that every region can establish such a system," health minister Katsunobu Kato said Friday.

To reduce the strain on the health care system, the ministry earlier this month recommended prefectures prioritize treatment of those with serious symptoms and have mild or asymptomatic patients recuperate in accommodation facilities or at home.

Thirty-nine prefectures have already commenced or are preparing to commence such measures, according to the ministry, which also said it has so far secured around 9,000 rooms nationwide.

Japan has seen a rise in its infection cases, now totaling 13,491, including about 700 from the Diamond Princess cruise ship that was quarantined near Tokyo in February.