Global Health & Medicine 2022;4(3):201-203.

Perspectives on countermeasures against COVID-19 in the remote islands of Yaeyama region, Okinawa, Japan

Kamegai K, Sakai T, Teruya S, Kuba K, Ohmagari N

Abstract

Numerous difficulties unique to remote island regions exist in the fight against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). For example, in the Yaeyama Medical Region (Okinawa, Japan), there are only clinics without beds on constituent islands. As medical resources are limited on remote islands, a single outbreak can put the entire medical system at risk. In addition, local governments need to maintain economic support while taking measures to contain outbreaks. For future COVID-19 countermeasures, it is essential to establish a response team in the regional hospital to conduct on-site epidemiological surveys as early as possible in a pandemic. In addition, distributing effective oral antivirals to remote islands may reduce the spread of infection and the number of severe cases requiring off-region transfer.

KEYWORDS: epidemiological surveys, off-region transfer, infection control, oral antivirals

DOI: 10.35772/ghm.2022.01027

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