The health ministry on April 3 announced updated guidelines for responding to the new coronavirus outbreak by describing procedures for implementing its policy of not hospitalizing patients unless they show severe symptoms.

The new guidelines detail the steps that should be taken when medical experts decide to allow specific COVID-19 patients to stay at accommodation facilities prepared by local governments or at their own homes for recovery.

One month has already passed since the ministry announced its policy of not hospitalizing patients who show only mild symptoms or none at all while monitoring their condition.

But the process of implementing this approach has been slow because of many medical, logistic and other issues that need to be sorted out.

The ministry finally unveiled detailed procedures for putting the policy into effect as the number of cases is approaching the hospitalization capacity in some large cities, including Tokyo.

The government needs to switch its approach quickly to prevent medical institutions from being overwhelmed.

But not all issues have been solved. One is how to secure public health and registered nurses to be deployed to the accommodation facilities to monitor the condition of patients.

This requirement should not put any additional burden on public health centers, which are already struggling with heavy workloads as they need to conduct tests and track infections. Local clinics and medical associations should provide active support.

The guidelines also call for mobilizing workers at the accommodation facilities for related tasks, such as delivering meals and other activities to support the daily life of patients.

It is crucial to ensure that these workers are adequately prepared for the tasks they are being asked to carry out. This will require measures like crash courses to give them knowledge and advice on how to protect themselves from infection.

The central and local governments need to ask for cooperation from such workers by offering suitable remuneration and a compensation program for those who catch the virus during their work.

The guidelines also offer tips for infected people who are told to stay at home for recovery. But experts in various fields have voiced warnings about the risks involved in leaving the care of such patients to their families.

That is hardly surprising. A system should be created to ensure that such “hospital-at-home” patients will be admitted to facilities swiftly if the situation demands or if they wish.

More than anything else, it is urgent and critical to secure sufficient numbers of hospital beds for serious cases, the principal goal of the guidelines.

Given a growing number of cases of serious hospital infection, it is quite possible that it will become increasingly difficult to obtain cooperation from general hospitals.

The government needs to offer robust financial support and compensation for any economic damage that hospitals suffer by cooperating with the program.

The coronavirus outbreak has underscored shortages of intensive care units and ventilators needed to treat serious cases in this country.

The number of ICUs per population in Japan is smaller than in European countries. Any explosive growth in cases could overwhelm medical institutions very quickly in Japan, experts warn.

The government has exhorted manufacturers to increase the production of ventilators and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) devices. But it remains unclear when their supplies will start meeting demand. It is also necessary to train and secure sufficient numbers of experts who can use these machines.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced April 1 that all households in Japan would each receive two cloth face masks, which can be washed and repeatedly reused, even though they are believed to be ineffective in preventing infection. The program will cost tens of billions of yen.

The government needs to set its priorities right in deciding how to use limited human and material resources for its efforts to save as many lives as possible and minimize damage from the pandemic.

--The Asahi Shimbun, April 4