Hospitals in Nagoya, located in Japan¡¯s industrial heartland, have more coronavirus patients than they can treat, forcing transfers to nearby areas and offering a glimpse of the challenges the outbreak poses for a country with a huge elderly population.
Japan has closed schools and canceled public events, which experts say has helped prevent an explosive spread of the virus. But because testing hasn¡¯t been widespread, some medical experts say the extent of infection is understated, and a surge could yet happen.
That would put more of the country under the strain now being felt in Nagoya, and force a nationwide scramble to shift patients, many of them elderly, to hospitals in areas with capacity.
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