Airport Sets Up Cardboard Beds To Hold Passengers Yet To Be Screened for COVID

An array of cardboard beds awaits travelers at one Japanese airport who are waiting for the results of COVID-19 screening tests.

At Narita Airport in Tokyo, cardboard beds and quilts have been installed in the baggage claim area, according to Reuters.

The temporary beds will be used by passengers who have arrived in Japan from overseas and are waiting to be tested, a requirement for those traveling from certain locations.

The results can come as quickly as six hours.

However, even in a time when there is a reduced volume of passengers flying, there is still a backlog of tests, which means that passengers may need to remain at the airport for as long as two days, according to Japan’s Health Ministry.

Passengers entering Japan can’t access public transportation until they have been cleared, which means they must wait at the airport.

The airport currently has other facilities nearby, but added the holding area in the baggage claim section as those facilities have been full.

The beds used at the airport were made to be used in times when evacuation centers would need to be opened after some type of disaster.

“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,” one unnamed Health Ministry official told Reuters.

The waiting area is staffed by individuals who wear protective gear, CNN reported.

The unique cardboard hotel drew many comments on Twitter.