A patient on a ventilator (Asahi Shimbun file photo) Doctors and medical workers are distressed over a nightmare scenario that will soon become a reality if the novel coronavirus keeps spreading and the number of COVID-19 patients increases even further. As resources come under strain, they may face situations where they must make the ultimate choice: Who should be on a life-support machine, namely a ventilator, and who should not? The Japanese Society of Intensive Care Medicine and other groups issued recommendations on proceeding appropriately in those situations in November, advising doctors and staff to make a “team decision.” However, the recommendations did not include concrete criteria for making judgments in those cases, leaving the tough decision making to those on the front lines.