MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 26th January, 2021) Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Tuesday expressed his sorrow at overcrowded hospitals being unable to deal with a mounting inflow of coronavirus patients amid reports of out-of-hospital deaths from the virus.
Suga spoke at the lower house's committee meeting after authorities confirmed that almost 200 people with the coronavirus have died outside the health care system since the onset of the pandemic.
"We have not been able to provide the necessary care, and I recognize that because of this the Japanese people are feeling anxious," Suga said, as quoted by the Kyodo news agency.
When asked by an opposition lawmaker if he feels responsible for coronavirus patients who have died at home after being denied care in overcrowded hospitals, he replied: "As the one in charge, I feel terribly sorry."
Japan has so far confirmed over 370,000 coronavirus cases, including 300,000 recoveries and nearly 5,300 deaths. The second wave of COVID-19 is reported to have put national hospitals under severe strain.
