The reclassification will lead to an ease in Covid-19 prevention rules, including on mask wearing and quarantine measures.
Just last week, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida confirmed that Japan would be downgrading the Covid-19 disease classification status to the same level as the seasonal flu. As reported by The Japan Times, this change will now go into effect on Monday May 8, right after Japan’s stretch of Golden Week holidays.
As explained in the report, Covid-19 will be officially downgraded from the Class 2 category, which includes diseases such as tuberculosis, to the less severe Class 5, which includes the seasonal flu. Previously, Japan announced it would even consider relaxing its recommendation on wearing masks indoors if the classification of Covid-19 was lowered.
If you’re curious what else will change when the downgrade goes into effect, here’s a short summary of what you can expect this coming spring.
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* Those infected with Covid-19 will no longer be required to isolate and quarantine
* Close contacts to those infected will also no longer need to isolate
* The government will no longer be able to issue a state of emergency if Covid-19 infections rise
* Restaurants and bars will not be encouraged to shorten business hours or close
* More hospitals and clinics will be allowed to treat Covid-19 infected patients
* Wearing face masks will become optional and up to your own judgement
* Border restrictions to likely further ease (no further details have been given on this, but we will keep you posted as more information is released)
30 comments
> Wearing face masks will become optional and up to your own judgement
Has this ever not been the case?
Straight information to discuss, confirm and build upon.
Thank you for this.
Why are they waiting 3+ months to downgrade it? Why not just downgrade it now?
Where can I find an official link?
* Those infected with Covid-19 will no longer be required to isolate and quarantine
>Close contacts to those infected will also no longer need to isolate
are these medically justified?
Are there any solid sources on that border restrictions will be removed or reduced? This does not seem to be mentioned anyplace I have read about this, so I assume it’s just speculation.
Oh good, Japan is joining the rest of the world in pretending the pandemic is over and that basic precautions aren’t necessary.
This is sarcasm, by the way. I’ve avoided Covid all this time, I’m not looking to get it now.
Sounds like they are washing their hands of any responsibility.
Most people will continue to wear masks I assume, but its good no one can say shit to you if you choose not to.
Nice post. Txs.
>Those infected with Covid-19 will no longer be required to isolate and quarantine
Fucking brilliant.
My company has already updated policy in preparation. We always had people stay home for a week when they had influenza. Now that will become the base policy for covid as well.
I hope that this will allow hospitals to change their rules on visitors.
I’m gonna be selfish, idc if I get downvoted, but this is great. I’m hoping this means the hospital I’m set to give birth at in august will allow my husband to be in the delivery room. He doesn’t have to visit, I’m okay with that, but they still aren’t allowing husbands to witness the birth (with or without a Covid test or being fully vaxxed) and I think it’s complete and utter BS.
It’s not good for the mental health of new mothers to be completely isolated during a traumatic event (call it what you want but birth is traumatic even if the end result is amazing). Many of the fathers on here complained about bs restrictions on childbirth too and not being able to see their baby until the moment their partner comes home.
I’m just hoping that with the new classification on COVID, things will actually change a little, even if people are still taking precautions like wearing a mask or self-isolating (even if they don’t have to). I do expect to see masks being worn by the majority until the end of 2024 though, that might not change anytime soon and that’s okay—their body, their choice.
You forgot the biggest one – if you catch Covid the portion of your hospital bills covered by medical insurance will be gradually reduced, whereas currently it is mostly covered by the national health insurance.
People are so bothered by masks they don’t really look at the real cost of contracting covid has just raisen, not lowered.
And what’s the betting they drop the need for a PCR test when I’m going two weeks before and it’s going to be an absolute hassle to arrange as I fly on a Sunday. And imagine that I asked my partner so many times to arrange the trip for mid May. Unbelievable.
Will women no longer have to give birth alone?
I quit wearing a mask long ago. Bring it on.
Does this mean vaccines will no longer be free? Influenza vaccines for instance arent(though they are cheap and a lot of workplaces give them out for no cost to the employees)
Not sure what exactly is correct in this policy but I am sure we can all agree that whatever Japan is doing right now is more theatre than actual containment procedure. I’m all good as long as the vulnerable people have the right to protect themselves as they please and those who don’t need it can live their life.
Nice.
I’ll still be wearing the mask when in shops/restaurants/cinemas etc.
That’s all well and good but what about the GO TO MASK-OFF campaign, complete with mascot and complex system of coupons and points…?
So much cope in this thread from the people who want to continue wasting their lives. I know the sunken cost fallacy is a thing, but you paid your price. You don’t need to keep buying into this
Ah shit, so if someone gets COVID but doesn’t have terrible symptoms themselves, they can bring it to the workplace and guarantee others will get it considering how contagious it is?
Personal choice but I hope I’ll be able keep wearing masks so I can get away with not wearing makeup.😂
Is it me or some people just wear masks to cover their face? Like inferiority complex thing …I’ve noticed some female friends who wear it for “privacy” and most of them are not very kawaii…
What to expect? I expect nothing and expect to be right.
>More hospitals and clinics will be **allowed** to treat Covid-19 infected patients
Hospitals and clinics have been “allowed” to take COVID-19 patients all along. It’s just that so many of them have refused to do so. There’s also the case of “ghost hospitals” where they were getting paid to keep beds open for COVID patients but hardly had any COVID patients… sounds bizarre, no?
Japan has one of the highest number of hospital beds per capita in the entire world and yet we still have ambulances driving around trying to find a spot and people dying at home because ambulances wouldn’t come.
Japan should have found a way to compel hospitals to take patients. “No they can’t do that”. If they could impose quasi-lockdowns and order businesses to close, surely they could have come up with measures to *force* hospitals to take COVID patients.
Japan’s fatality numbers are still low compared to other developed nations (so something worked) but if the government continues with the current regime where hospitals can just be like “no thanks mate” then people will continue to needlessly die from COVID-19.
Scrolling the responses, I see a lot of extreme stances and I think is kind of sad to see such inability to have a reasonable conversation on this matter, really.
Most japanese wear it for education, not because is “backed by science” (because nobody here wears the proper protective masks like N95 that really do something etc…) and in fact in december we had the highest numbers ever. (And by looking at govt reports, there clusters in elder facilities were covid just ravages and kills easily.)
Surely most will keep wearing it. Even with new rules enforced. No problems with that. And I have no problems with those who choose not to wear mask.
The current state of things shall not continue for long, it has been already 3 years. Covid is here to stay (and mutate, forever).
But psychological damage because of it (especially to young and kids) paired with the other restrictions (like eating in silence, alone, etc…) are going to have some repercussions. I know personally a few cases of depressed kids and uni students (japanese), who were healthy before the pandemic.
And as a pure anedocte about the current efficacy of mask wearing:
This morning I did an hour and a half train ride in a green car. 3 people in the car were constantly coughing, but they were wearing a mask.
Would not be better if sick stay at home, when they have symptoms, instead of spreading it?
I changed seat as soon as I could, but will report if I actually got anything from those nice caring ppl.
The current widespread and kind of nonsense way of using mask have this paradoxical effect of making everybody safe and unsafe at the same time.
Love to sacrifice my health for the economy.
This seems like a generally bad idea. Like I guess it has to happen eventually, but requiring sick people to stay home and away from others seems like it should always be a requirement.