Japan lifted its COVID-19 border measures on April 29, allowing all arrivals to enter the country without showing proof of vaccination or negative test results, as the country’s “Golden Week” holiday began.
Golden Week is one of Japan’s busiest travel times. Four national holidays fall within the period from April 29 to May 5, and Japan is anticipating an influx of tourists.
Japan also scrapped its random testing requirement for visitors from China, which was put in place earlier this year after a surge of COVID-19 cases in China, when the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) abruptly lifted its “zero-COVID” measures.
The ministry stated that the random testing requirement will be replaced by testing on arrival for those who show symptoms, which is the same measure applied to all other travelers.
Japan Formally Downgrading COVID-19 Status
COVID-19 is currently classified as a special category that’s “equivalent to or stricter than Class 2” disease in Japan, which is subject to strict measures such as restrictions on the movement of infected individuals and their close contacts.The Health Ministry stated on April 27 that COVID-19’s status would be downgraded to a Class 5 disease on May 8. That will result in the disease being treated similarly to seasonal flu, and quarantine rules will be eliminated.
Ninth Wave of COVID-19
Infectious disease experts had earlier warned that Japan could face a “ninth wave” of COVID-19 infections that’s “larger than the eighth wave,” Kyodo News reported.At an advisory panel meeting on April 19, Kato said there was an increase in the number of cases linked to the XBB.1.5 Omicron coronavirus subvariant.
“There is a possibility that infections will spread toward this summer,” Kato said.
The expert panel warned that Japan’s mortality rate could be higher than other nations because of its aging population and advised the government to adopt measures to control the spread of the virus.
“We need to continue to take measures for the elderly, who are at high risk of dying [from the virus] and those with underlying diseases,” they said.
XBB is a recombinant of two subvariants that descended from the Omicron BA.2 subvariant. This means that genetic data from two versions of the virus that descended from BA.2 that had infected a person at the same time, combined during the viral replication process to form the new XBB subvariant.
The researchers also said their results suggest that XBB is “highly transmissible” and highly resistant to the immunity that was induced by people having had breakthrough infections of the previous Omicron subvariants.