Govt. Prepares To Send Sdf Nurses To Asahikawa
NHK has learned that Japan's government is preparing to send nurses from the Self-Defense Forces to a hospital in Hokkaido to help it tackle surging coronavirus infections.
The city of Asahikawa in the northern prefecture has seen infection clusters spreading at two hospitals.
So far, Asahikawa-Kosei General Hospital has a total of 217 confirmed cases and Keiyukai-group Yoshida Hospital has 184.
Prefectural sources say the central government is in the final stage of preparations and will gradually send around 20 SDF nurses to Keiyukai-group Yoshida Hospital as part of the SDF's disaster relief operations.
The hospital sent a letter dated November 25 to Hokkaido Governor Suzuki Naomichi asking for the dispatch of SDF nurses, saying the city's medical association is overburdened and there is no alternative.