Rooms available but often unused at COVID-19 recovery facilities in Japan

The common room of an accommodations facility for asymptomatic people set up by the Tokyo metropolitan government (Credit: The Yomiuri Shimbun)

Rooms are available in accommodation facilities secured by prefectural governments in urban areas for people infected with the coronavirus, but it is proving tough to get booked into one.

The situation is partly the result of the rapid spread of the omicron variant and the subsequent backlog of coordination work, and because people who are at a higher risk of spreading infections are being prioritized for accommodations. However, in some instances, people have transmitted the virus to others while waiting for a room.