The Saitama Prefectural Government building (Mainichi/Koichi Uchida)

       SAITAMA -- A Saitama Prefecture resident in his 50s infected with the coronavirus was found dead at home after a local public health center didn't identify him as a COVID-19 patient recovering at home and left him unattended for two weeks, the prefectural government announced Sept. 6.

       The man had apparently been complaining of fatigue and difficulty breathing, but the health center failed to create his file and were unable to monitor him.

       The Saitama Prefectural Government and its Kasukabe Public Health Center say the man was confirmed infected on Aug. 17. Despite living in an area under the Kasukabe health center's jurisdiction, his home address in the resident registration system was in the city of Saitama. Information on his infection was accordingly transferred to the city's public health center.

       The Saitama city health center subsequently called the man, who reported symptoms including a temperature of 39.8 degrees Celsius and that he was struggling to breath when walking.

       The center concluded he didn't need to be hospitalized, and on Aug. 19 it referred his case back to the Kasukabe health center, which has jurisdiction over his actual area of residence, so that they could monitor his condition. But the Kasukabe center didn't create his file, leading them to overlook him as a subject for health monitoring.

       On three instances between Aug. 19 and 21, the man reported breathing problems and other symptoms to the center via the health ministry's Health Center Real-time Information-sharing System on COVID-19, or HER-SYS, through which patients and others can send information on their health. But reportedly no one at the Kasukabe center noticed his reports.

       On Sept. 3, an acquaintance of the man called the Kasukabe center to tell them they could not get in touch with him. Kasukabe center workers visited the man's home, but received no response. Police officers and emergency rescue workers arrived at the scene, only to find him dead at home. He is believed to have died sometime in late August, but his cause of death remains unidentified. The man had no underlying conditions.

       The prefectural government's Department of Public Health and Medical Services said, "This is an extremely regrettable case. We will review our response including centralizing our information management to prevent a recurrence."

       (Japanese original by Reiko Oka, Saitama Bureau)

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