Japan's Covid - 19 Deaths At Home Spiked In Jan.
Japanese police say the number of coronavirus patients who died at places other than hospitals more than doubled in January compared with the figure the previous month.
The National Police Agency says more than 250 people who contracted the coronavirus have died at home and other places after their condition suddenly worsened.
The agency says at least 254 such deaths were confirmed from March of last year through the end of January.
In January alone, 132 such deaths were reported. That's a sharp increase from 56 in December.
Tokyo reported the most deaths at 46 in January, followed by Kanagawa Prefecture with 19.
Fifteen people in Chiba Prefecture and 10 in Osaka Prefecture died from the coronavirus at places other than medical institutions.
The 132 deaths include 114 people in their 60s or older, who accounted for 86 percent of the total.
The national police say that in many cases infection was only confirmed after carriers died. Patients typically could not be seen swiftly at medical institutions even if their conditions worsened.
The number of such deaths has been on a downtrend since the beginning of February.
Experts suggest that people can use telephone hotlines to medical institutions and municipal offices if their health worsens, and that they should take note of what is happening with elderly people around them.