As COVID-19 continues to sweep the globe, countries are starting to get creative with their efforts to support the systems most overwhelmed by the pandemic.  In response to the growing number of confirmed cases, Japan’s Narita Airport has set up cardboard beds and quilts in its baggage-claim area for passengers from overseas who are expected to stay there while awaiting their test results for the coronavirus.

According to Reuters, “though flights at Narita are down so sharply that the airport has closed one of its runways, planes are still landing with passengers arriving from countries including the United States and Italy who are required to undergo tests for the virus before they can head home.”

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Photo via Narita Airport

Results can come as quickly as six hours, but delays now mean many take as long as one or two days, an official at the Health Ministry said, declining to give his name.

With passengers forbidden to take public transportation, those with nobody to pick them up have to wait – and the cardboard beds have been readied in case nearby facilities currently being used to house passengers are full, he added.

Originally, these makeshift beds, made of heavy-duty cardboard, were developed for use in evacuation centers during disasters and any other time when temporary bedding is needed. Each bed is also supplied with its own mattress and quilt.

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“There are facilities near the airport for people to stay, so as far as I know the beds haven’t been used yet – or if they have, it’s only been very briefly,” the official said.

Currently, the country is under a state of emergency with over 8,600 confirmed cases according to Johns Hopkin’s Coronavirus Resource Center.