Japan govt to downgrade COVID situation to seasonal influenza
2 min read . Updated: 22 Jan 2023, 02:00 PM IST
PremiumJapan government is considering to downgrade the category of COVID in the country to that of seasonal influenza. Japan's Prime Minister ordered health ministry to review consequences of relaxing Covid related rules
Despite facing high number of COVID cases on a daily basis, Japan is considering to downgrade its COVID-19 rules to the same category as seasonal influenza, said Japan's PM Fumio Kishida.
Fumio Kishida said that he had instructed his administration and the Health Ministry to estimate the consequences of the move. Japan is facing 1,00,000 coronavirus cases on a daily basis, reported ANI citing CNN report.
Based on the large number of COVID cases reported in the country, COVID shares equivalent status to that of tuberculosis and avian influenza on second rank. Now, the officials are planning to put it at the fifth rank, which is equivalent to to seasonal influenza, CNN reported quoting Japan's Health Ministry.
"In order to further advance the efforts of 'living with Corona' and restore Japan to a state of normalcy, we will transition the various policies and measures to date in phases," Kishida said.
Last year, Japan ended one of the strictest border controls in the world in October by opening its borders to foreigners. Since the breakout of the pandemic, maximum population has gained immunity from the virus due to high levels of vaccination repeated waves of COVID 19. The risk of death or hospitalisation from COVID-19 has also reduced greatly, states the United States Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
In contrast, World Health Organisation has maintained its stance on COVID and counts Covid as a Pandemic. In its latest update, the international health organisation has reiterated recommended people to follow social distancing norms and wear mask.
WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus encouraged the governments to continue sharing covid data as it remained vital to detect and track the emergence and spread of new variants.
Recently, a Japanese health expert warned clearly that the country can see another spike in COVID cases after mid-January, which can surpass the previous record.
Daily COVID tally of the cases in Japan can reach central government's earlier projection of 4,50,000 nationwide, according to Toho University Professor Tateda Kazuhiro, who is on the government's coronavirus advisory panel.
(With inputs from ANI)