Anti-Infection Measures Still Needed 1 Year after COVID Downgrade

Tokyo, May 7 (Jiji Press)--While Wednesday marks one year since Japan downgraded COVID-19 to a lower-risk infectious disease category that includes seasonal influenza, the country has faced unseasonal and larger-than-usual outbreaks of other infectious diseases over the past year.

Infectious disease experts are urging people to implement basic infection prevention measures, such as hand washing, as their immunity to pathogens other than the coronavirus is believed to have weakened during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In line with the COVID-19 downgrade in May 2023, Japan stopped counting all COVID-19 cases nationwide and began receiving COVID-19 case reports from about 5,000 designated medical institutions.

According to the health ministry, the number of COVID-19 cases reported in the week through April 21 declined for the 11th consecutive week.

The country has been largely free of major outbreaks of COVID-19 variants since the COVID-19 downgrade, except for the ninth infection wave last summer and some other periods.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]