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Japan considers lowering Covid-19 levels the same as seasonal flu. Photo/Illustration/Sindonews
TOKYO – Japan will consider downgrading Covid-19 into the same category as seasonal influenza this spring. This was announced directly by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
Kishida said he had instructed Japanese Health Ministry officials to discuss the move and his government would also review rules on wearing masks and other pandemic measures.
“In order to further advance the efforts of ‘living with Corona’ and restoring Japan to a normal state, we will gradually transition the policies and measures up to now,” Kishida said as quoted from CNN, Friday (20/1/2023).
While daily cases of Covid-19 in Japan have decreased in recent weeks, the country is still facing around 100,000 new cases of infection each day.
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The Japanese Ministry of Health previously categorized Covid-19 as a Class 2 disease, with the same status as tuberculosis and bird flu. But officials will now discuss reclassifying it to Class 5 or the lowest rating that includes seasonal flu.
Japan fully reopened its borders to overseas visitors last October after more than two years of pandemic restrictions, ending one of the strictest border controls in the world.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on its website says influenza – or the common cold – and Covid-19 are infectious respiratory diseases with similar symptoms, but are caused by different viruses and require testing to confirm a diagnosis.
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According to the CDC, the risk of death or hospitalization from Covid-19 is greatly reduced for most people due to high rates of vaccination and population immunity from previous infection.
