Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide says the government will work to make sure healthcare services are available to deal with coronavirus infections during the year-end and New Year holidays.

Suga was speaking on Monday at a government taskforce meeting that was called to discuss measures against the virus.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has raised its healthcare alert to the highest level for the first time as coronavirus infections continue to spread.

Tokyo's advisory panel of infectious disease and public health experts said at a meeting on Thursday that the healthcare system is on the verge of a crisis.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has raised its healthcare system alert to the highest level as the number of cases continues to surge.

Medical experts say a surge in new coronavirus cases in Tokyo is starting to overstretch its healthcare system, making it very difficult to provide care for other patients.

The warning came when an advisory panel of infectious disease and public health experts met Tokyo Metropolitan Government officials on Thursday for a weekly assessment of the coronavirus situation.

Help is on the way to Japan's northern prefecture of Hokkaido, which has been hit by cluster infections of the coronavirus. With hospitals struggling with a healthcare worker shortage, the Defense Minister is sending in reinforcements from the Self-Defense Forces.

Defense Minister Kishi Nobuo said, "We concluded that emergency medical assistance to Hokkaido Prefecture is necessary, so we decided to send SDF medical assistance teams on a disaster-relief mission as early as today."

Japan's health ministry has issued a directive to local authorities to ensure that day care centers look after children of healthcare workers who are on the frontlines of the coronavirus outbreak.

The directive is intended to help medical workers avoid staying at home, or taking a leave of absence to care for their children when demand for medical services is rising.