On Thursday, Japan officially decided to downgrade its coronavirus status to seasonal flu effective May 8, paving the way for a full normalization of social and economic activity.

The final refinement of the schedule comes as the Tokyo government considers lifting remaining border controls due to the coronavirus by midnight Friday in anticipation of a surge in the number of people traveling abroad and returning during the Golden Week holiday on Saturday.

In accordance with the current measures, all those entering Japan must present proof of receipt at least three doses of vaccination against COVID-19 or negative from coronavirus testheld within 72 hours prior to departure.

The epidemiologists of the competent committee of the Ministry of Health have given the green light to the planned reclassification schedule based on the current situation with the pandemic and the readiness of the healthcare system for a possible new wave across the country.

“The special measures taken by the government to combat the novel coronavirus will expire on May 7th,” Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare Katsunobu Kato said at a press conference.

Earlier this month, a panel of experts from the health ministry’s advisory board also warned that Japan could face “ninth wave» pandemic, even more severe than the previous one, while the Minister of Health noted an increase in cases of the new infectious sub-variant Omicron XBB.1.5.

More than 7.5 million cases of COVID-19 were reported in Japan during the latest spike in infections, or the eighth wave, from late November to late January, according to the health ministry.

The Japanese are particularly vulnerable to the pandemic, as the country’s population has a disproportionate proportion of older people and relatively low vaccination rates.

Source: Kyodo