The 47 prefectures of Japan have secured a total of 14,486 hospital beds for patients of the novel coronavirus, but the number is less than half of the 31,077 that are estimated to become necessary when infections peak in the country, the health ministry said Sunday.

The figure, based on reports from the prefectures as of May 1, is far fewer than the target of 50,000 beds, unveiled by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in April.

Twelve prefectures have secured beds seen necessary at the time of the estimated peak of the pandemic. They are the northeastern prefectures of Akita and Yamagata, the central prefectures of Ishikawa, Nagano, Shizuoka and Mie, the western prefectures of Hyogo, Tottori, Shimane and Yamaguchi, and the southwestern prefectures of Kumamoto and Kagoshima.

But the 35 other prefectures face shortages. In Tokyo, 4,000 beds are believed to become necessary when infections peak, but only 2,000 beds have so far been prepared.

According to the ministry's data as of April 28, 1,832 coronavirus patients had been hospitalized in Tokyo, meaning that more than 90 pct of the 2,000 beds secured by the government of the Japanese capital had been occupied.

The situation is believed to be becoming tough even in Ishikawa, which claims to have secured enough beds. In Ishikawa, 150 patients had been hospitalized as of April 28, against 170 beds prepared by the prefectural government.

The ministry also said the number of rooms at accommodation facilities that accept people who are infected with the virus but show mild or no symptoms stood at 16,113 nationwide as of Thursday, up by some 4,000 from April 27.

By prefecture, the number was largest in Tokyo, at 2,865, followed by Kanagawa, south of Tokyo, at 2,303, and Osaka, western Japan, at 1,565, according to the ministry.

JIJI Press