This photo taken on Aug. 21, 2021, in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward shows an "oxygen station" for use by COVID-19 patients who have been recuperating at home. (Kyodo)

       TOKYO (Kyodo) -- A facility to provide oxygen support to COVID-19 patients with relatively mild symptoms started operating Monday in Tokyo to relieve the strain on the capital's medical system as infections surge.

       The oxygen station set up by the metropolitan government in the capital's Shibuya Ward will run around the clock. It has 130 beds and is staffed by three doctors and 25 nurses.

       It is designed to treat patients who have been asked to recuperate at home but who experience concerns over breathing. Stays are likely to be short-term, such as one or two nights.

       Those who feel better after receiving oxygen support will be sent back home, while patients whose symptoms become severe will be considered for admission to hospital.

       The station was opened in the former site of the National Children's Castle, a complex that contained play and educational facilities for children.

       As of Sunday, more than 39,000 patients in Tokyo are recovering at home or elsewhere without hospital admission, underscoring the urgent need to expand the support system in the capital.

       The metropolitan government plans to add another 110 beds in oxygen-station capacity within hospitals it runs by the end of this month.

       Meanwhile, a site opened to provide AstraZeneca Plc's COVID-19 vaccine at Shiromi Hall, a multipurpose hall in Osaka Castle Park in Osaka city. The move came as Osaka Prefecture has seen daily infections top 2,000 since Aug. 18, with Osaka city accounting for some 40 percent of the cases.

       The site, with some 60 staff, is aiming to inoculate 540 people per day. Registration for the shots began on Aug. 16, with slots already filled up until Aug. 29.

       While the city said it still expects to complete inoculation of its residents wishing to receive shots using mainly the vaccines developed by Pfizer Inc. and Moderna Inc. within November, it hopes the AstraZeneca shots will speed up the process.

       The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare approved the AstraZeneca vaccine in May, but the government initially withheld supplying the doses, taking into consideration reported rare cases of blood clots among young people overseas.

       It began supplying it to prefectures most in need of additional doses such as Tokyo and Osaka earlier this month for use alongside the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.

       People eligible to receive AstraZeneca shots include those aged 40 or older, and those aged 18 or above who cannot take the Pfizer or Moderna doses due to reasons such as allergic reactions. The two shots are administered with a gap of eight weeks.

       Hisato Takeuchi, 49, received an AstraZeneca shot in the morning. He said he felt more at risk from COVID-19 after one of his acquaintances recently became infected.

       "I was not able to book my appointment for any other vaccine. I thought there should be an opening slot for AstraZeneca (because of reported concerns about side effects)," he said.

       Another local resident, Reiko Sakamoto, 64, said, "I'm so relieved to get my vaccination at last. I was not worried about side effects that much, because I was desperate to receive my shot as soon as possible."

       The city government is planning to open another vaccination site at the Osaka City Air Terminal building from Aug. 30.

       Kawaguchi in Saitama Prefecture neighboring Tokyo is also set to offer on Monday AstraZeneca shots in principle to those aged 40 or above. Reservation slots of 500 per day have been filled up for the entire week.

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