Nearly 20% Of Nursing Care Facilities Out Of Masks
Nearly 20 percent of facilities in Japan that provide nursing care have run out of surgical masks amid the new coronavirus outbreak.
More than 1,000 care facilities across Japan responded to a survey over the weekend by the Nippon Careservice Craft Union.
It showed that 34.1 percent were short of surgical masks and alcohol disinfectant.
Asked how many masks they have left, 18.8 percent of all facilities said none.
The health ministry and the Cabinet Office have asked prefectural governments to survey the mask shortage among nursing care providers. But 68.1 percent of facilities said they have not yet been surveyed.
A special nursing home for the elderly in Yachimata, Chiba Prefecture, says masks became unavailable around mid-January. It has also been unable to purchase alcohol disinfectant.
The head of the facility says she wants to know when they will be able to get surgical masks. She says the government has pledged to step up production but nothing has changed. She says the staff are considering making their own masks out of cloth.
