茨城県「臨時の医療施設」の設置についての市長コメント（2022年12月1日）

市民の皆様におかれましては、日頃より新型コロナウイルスの感染防止対策にご理解とご協力をいただき、心より御礼を申し上げます。

本日（12月1日）、大井川知事が定例記者会見を行い、新型コロナウイルス感染症に係る臨時の医療施設をつくば市内に設置すると発表がありました。臨時の医療施設の詳細については茨城県のホームページをご参照ください。

利用する土地が日本財団の研究所跡地ということで、新型コロナウイルス感染症の国内発生が拡大していた2020年4月に日本財団が発表した医療施設と混同しやすいと思いますので、今回の県の計画と日本財団の計画のちがいをお示ししておきます。

• 事業主体のちがい
  今回の県の計画は、土地は日本財団のものを活用しますが、事業は県が主体となって行い、医療従事者の確保も県が責任を持って行います。当時の日本財団の構想は、事業主体が明確でなく、市はもとより県も国も寝耳に水の状況で発表され、医療従事者についての調整も一切されていないもので実効性があるものとは言えませんでした。
• 規模のちがい
  今回の県の計画は、県内の療養者を受け入れるものであり、病床数も200床という現実的な数字です。日本財団の構想は全国から陽性者を集める9000床という規格外の構想であり、当時から今も変わらず最大の課題である医療従事者の確保について、現実的な手立ては示されていませんでした。現実的な対応策として、つくば市では当時全国初となる自治体施設（豊里ゆかりの森）の県への提供によって、数十床の規模の宿泊療養施設を運用しました。
• 状況のちがい
  現在、新型コロナウイルス感染症を取り巻く状況は、2020年発生当初と比較し、重症化率が著しく低いオミクロン株であることや、ワクチンや治療薬などが開発され、感染症に関する特性などもわかってきています。また、すでに県による宿泊療養施設は県内で複数設置され、運用の実績も十分にあります。今回の臨時の医療施設の設置に関しても、感染症専門医の指導の下、徹底した管理体制で設置に向けて準備を進めていると聞いています。

以上のことから、今回の県による計画は、2020年感染拡大当初の日本財団の計画とは用地が同じであること以外は多くの点でちがうものです。

11月に入り、県内の感染者数の増加傾向が続き、入院患者数も増加しています。今回の臨時の医療施設設置は、入院患者の大半がご高齢の方々である現状から、合併症の対応や介護が必要な方に対して、適切な医療・介護を提供するための対策ということです。

第8波の感染拡大を受けて、医療や療養環境を整備することは、医療ひっ迫・医療崩壊を防ぎ、市民の皆様の命や生活を守るために重要であると考えます。県が主体となり行う事業であり市の関与はありませんが、市民の皆様のご理解、ご協力をよろしくお願いいたします。

つくば市長
五十嵐 立青

Mayor's comment regarding setting up a prefectural temporary healthcare facility (December 1, 2022)

[Provisional translation]

I would like to thank you for your understanding and cooperation in preventing the spread of COVID-19.

In the press conference held today on December 1, Ibaraki Governor Oigawa announced that a temporary healthcare facility for COVID-19 will be set up in Tsukuba City. Please refer to the official website of Ibaraki Prefecture for details of the temporary healthcare facility.

The planned temporary healthcare facility will be set up on the site of an old Nippon Foundation's research center. This may invite confusion because earlier in April 2020, when COVID-19 started to spread in Japan, the Nippon Foundation announced that they would set up a healthcare facility on the same site. I would like to make it clear the differences between the current Prefectural project and the previous Nippon Foundation's project.

• Difference in the entity responsible for the project
  The entity to lead the current project is Ibaraki Prefectural government who will be also responsible for securing healthcare workers, though the site for the project is owned by the Nippon Foundation. The project concept suggested earlier by the Nippon Foundation, which took both the City and Prefecture by surprise, was hardly feasible, because it did not have a clear plan about who was in charge and how to secure healthcare workers.
• Difference in the project scale
  The Prefectural project plans to accommodate COVID patients in the Prefecture, and the suggested number of hospital bed is 200 which is feasible. The Nippon Foundation's concept suggested that they would accommodate COVID patients from all over the country in a facility with the unrealistic figure of 9,000 hospital beds. The concept did not have a clear plan on how to secure healthcare workers which was and still is the biggest challenge. At that time, Tsukuba City provided its municipal facility (Toyosato Yukari-no Mori) to Ibaraki Prefecture which was converted into a facility with dozens of hospital beds to house COVID patients as a practical response. Such initiative was one of the first of its kind in Japan.
• Difference in the situation surrounding COVID-19
  Compared to the beginning of the 2020 outbreak, we are better informed about the virus such as the current dominant Omicron subvariants being significantly milder, and vaccines and medicines are now available. In addition, the Prefectural government has set up several facilities for COVID patients in the Prefecture and has a number of experiences in operating such facilities. I am also informed that the setting up of a temporary healthcare facility is underway under the strict supervision by the guidance of infection disease experts.
  Therefore, the Prefectural project differs in many ways from the Nippon Foundation's project suggested at the beginning of 2020 outbreak except that the planned site is the same.

The number of cases in the Prefecture has continued to rise since November, as has the number of hospital admissions. The Prefecture stated that based on the current situation where most patients admitted to hospitals with COVID-19 are elderly, the decision to set up a temporary healthcare facility was made in order to provide appropriate healthcare and nursing care services for patients at higher risk for complications and patients in need of care.

In response to the eighth wave of infection, I believe it is essential to improve healthcare setting and recovery facilities in order to prevent overwhelming hospitals and to protect lives and livelihoods of people in the City. Although Tsukuba City is not part of this Prefecture-led project, I would like to ask for your understanding and cooperation.

Tatsuo Igarashi,
Mayor of Tsukuba City