Olympic games face shortage of medical staff as Covid cases surge in Japan

Organisers had initially planned to have about 10,000 medical staff on standby for the games, but have to cut short to about 7,000.

Japan’s medical establishment is becoming increasingly anxious about bringing together 78,000 people from 200 countries for the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, even as the country struggles to keep coronavirus infections under control and speed up vaccinations.

Organizers had initially planned to have about 10,000 doctors, nurses and medical staff on standby for the games, scheduled to start in less than two months, but have had to cut that number down to about 7,000 because they’ll be needed to handle ongoing outbreaks.

Although Japan has seen one of the lowest infection rates among rich industrialized nations, it has been trying to