One mask a day for doctors reveals Japan’s virus struggle

A worker packaging bottles of hand-sanitiser at a Kenei Pharmaceutical Co. factory in Matsusaka, Japan, on Friday (March 6). The shortage of basic medical equipment is being felt across the country, with some doctors and nurses having to use gauze as a temporary measure to get through, according to local medical associations. - Bloomberg

TOKYO: A Tokyo hospital treating coronavirus patients issued guidance last week to its doctors and nurses: only one surgical mask per staff will be allocated each day due to a supply shortage.

The notice, which was posted on the walls of the hospital’s general ward on Feb. 28, said that it only had enough in stock to last for another month so staff should use the same mask throughout the day.