Nippon Foundation announces free cab facilities for medics and paramedics

Japan's Nippon Foundation has announced free cab services for medical and paramedical staff of 200 hospitals in Tokyo.

The announcement was made on May 20 amid the coronavirus crisis.

"The Nippon Foundation usually thinks about the solution of the social subject. Disaster is usually out of expectation, out of assumption. Our principle is to provide a solution for the coronavirus crisis. We admire the devotion of medical treatment staff, especially during the crisis period. It is important to prepare for a second wave of the pandemic," Yohei Sasakawa, chairman of The Nippon Foundation, said.

The medical staff in hospitals can now use the cab service freely to go to work and return home. "The medical staff is compelled to work in difficult conditions under the coronavirus crisis," Sasakawa added.

This initiative is the first in all over the world and authorities are planning to expand operations quickly to other areas in Japan as well.

It also seeks to provide special cabs for the movement of patients.

The Nippon Foundation had previously declared to prepare a big capable temporary medical treatment facility setting in "Museum of Maritime and Science", "Para Arena" in Tokyo and on private land in Tsukuba city.

( With inputs from ANI )