Tokyo
CNN
—
Japan will take into account downgrading Covid-19 to the identical class as seasonal influenza this spring, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida introduced Friday.
Kishida mentioned he had instructed Well being Ministry officers to debate the transfer and his administration would additionally evaluation guidelines on face masks and different pandemic measures.
“In an effort to additional advance the efforts of ‘residing with Corona’ and restore Japan to a state of normalcy, we are going to transition the varied insurance policies and measures up to now in phases,” Kishida mentioned.
Whereas day by day Covid-19 circumstances in Japan have declined in latest weeks, the nation nonetheless faces round 100,000 new infections a day.
Covid-19 is categorized as a Class 2 illness, the identical standing as tuberculosis and avian influenza, in accordance with Japan’s Well being Ministry. Officers will now talk about reclassifying it to Class 5 – the bottom rank, which incorporates seasonal flu.
Japan totally reopened its borders to abroad guests final October after greater than two years of pandemic restrictions, ending one of many world’s strictest border controls.
Influenza – or the frequent flu – and Covid-19 are each contagious respiratory sicknesses with simlar signs, however they’re brought on by completely different viruses and require testing to verify a prognosis, the USA’ Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention (CDC) says on its web site.
Based on the CDC, the danger of dying or hospitalization from Covid-19 is enormously lowered for most individuals as a consequence of excessive ranges of vaccination and inhabitants immunity from earlier infections.
Nevertheless, the World Well being Group nonetheless lists the coronavirus outbreak as a pandemic, and reiterated in its newest replace a advice for folks to put on masks following latest publicity or shut contact with Covid-19, and for “anybody in a crowded, enclosed, or poorly ventilated house” to do the identical.
WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus referred to as on governments final week to proceed sharing the sequencing information of the coronavirus, because it remained very important to detect and observe the emergence and unfold of recent variants.
“It’s comprehensible that international locations can’t preserve the identical ranges of testing and sequencing they’d throughout the Omicron peak. On the similar time, the world can’t shut its eyes and hope this virus will go away. It gained’t,” he mentioned.
The information got here as South Korea introduced it should elevate its masks mandate for many indoor areas, with exceptions for public transport and well being services. The modifications will take impact on January 30, South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo mentioned Friday.
The measure shall be lifted after the Lunar New Yr vacation, when a lot of individuals are anticipated to journey, the Korea Illness Management and Prevention Company (KDCA) mentioned.
New Covid-19 circumstances, extreme circumstances and associated deaths are all declining and the nation’s medical response capability stays steady, KDCA added.
The company has strongly really useful folks put on masks if they’ve Covid-19 associated signs, belong to a high-risk group, have been in touch just lately with a constructive case, or are in a crowded house.
The prime minister mentioned the easing of the mandate might end in a short lived surge of recent circumstances and urged well being authorities to remain vigilant.
South Korea has scrapped most of its pandemic restrictions and eased its outside masks mandate in Might 2022. It nonetheless requires individuals who check constructive to endure seven days of dwelling isolation.
The nation has additionally restricted journey from mainland China and applied testing necessities for folks arriving from China, Hong Kong and Macau following Beijing’s easing of Covid restrictions.
