Impact of COVID-19 on People with Mental Disabilities in Japan

[...]people are apparently very frustrated, as illustrated by “quarantine vigilantes” who criticized shops that remained open despite the state of emergency, and anonymous bullying on the Internet resulting in suicide of a person who was targeted. The number of patients admitted to a psychiatric ward is around 280,000, and the number of psychiatric beds available is approximately 340,000; this amounts to more than 25% of the total number of psychiatric beds in the world. [...]since most wards in psychiatric hospitals are still closed in Japan, doors and windows are often closed as a safety measure for patients. According to the NPO Mental Care Council in Tokyo, around 5000 consultations are received per month, and there are claims that people with mental disabilities have been turned away by general hospitals even when they were not displaying any symptoms.