Global Health & Medicine
Online ISSN : 2434-9194
Print ISSN : 2434-9186

This article has now been updated. Please use the final version.

Perspectives on countermeasures against COVID-19 in the remote islands of Yaeyama region, Okinawa, Japan
Kohei KamegaiTatsuya SakaiShuzo TeruyaKanetaka KubaNorio Ohmagari
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JOURNAL FREE ACCESS Advance online publication

Article ID: 2022.01027

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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.

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© 2022 National Center for Global Health and Medicine
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