Kirk here, reporting that there were at least 1018 positives today in Kumamoto Prefecture – a new high, of course. Even if Omicron is generally less severe than Delta, high numbers of new infections means that there is an increased risk of hospitals being overwhelmed. Yesterday, RKK reported that two hospitals, the National Hospital Organization Kumamoto Medical Center (国立病院機構 熊本医療センター) and Kumamoto Central Hospital (熊本中央病院) had begun refusing to accept patients from other hospitals or limiting the number of such patients (links below). That’s just two hospitals and I think there are plenty of hospitals who are currently able to take up the slack. But, nonetheless, it’s not a good sign, especially as the daily number of people who test positive continues to increase.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ULs8zHl9z4
https://rkk.jp/news/backno_page.php?id=NS003202201251431520111
