No.137 Transition of COVID-19 to Category 5

This year, due to the mayoral election, the mayor's column for the May 15 issue has been put on hold. Thanks to the support of many citizens, I have been entrusted with a fourth term as mayor. I will continue this column as well, so thank you for your support.

In December of the first year of Reiwa, COVID-19 was first confirmed to have spread in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, and by January of the second year of Reiwa, it had spread to various parts of the world. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared a state of emergency on January 30 of the same year, requesting countries to contain the virus, detect infected individuals early, and trace contacts.

More than five years have passed, and on May 5th of this year, Secretary-General Tedros announced the lifting of the state of emergency.

In our country, according to the announcement by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare on May 7, the cumulative number of infected individuals has reached 33,793,429, with 74,654 deaths, which has had a significant impact. However, during this time, thanks to the efforts of those involved, the testing system, medical provision, hospitalization capacity, and treatment systems have been improved, and vaccination has progressed. Furthermore, considering that the virus has weakened and the risk of severe cases has decreased since last year, COVID-19 was changed from Category 2 to Category 5 on May 8, and accordingly, the government's countermeasure headquarters and basic response policy were also abolished.

On January 31, 2020, the "COVID-19 Crisis Management Headquarters" was established in the city, and a total of 20 meetings were held by April 6 of the same year to collect information, discuss responses, and make decisions on measures. Following the government's declaration of a state of emergency on April 7 of the same year, the headquarters transitioned to the "Inagi City COVID-19 Response Headquarters" based on the Special Measures Act for New Influenza and Other Diseases, and a total of 47 headquarters meetings were held by March 24 of this year, implementing measures each time. With the recent abolition of the government's response headquarters, the city's infectious disease response headquarters has also been abolished.

In the future, various restrictions imposed by the government and local authorities will be lifted, and decisions regarding treatment and infection prevention will basically be left to individual judgment. The main responses after the transition to Category 5 are as follows.

Understanding and Responding to Infected Individuals

• The complete count of infected individuals has ended, and it has been changed to a weekly report of patient numbers from approximately 5,000 medical institutions nationwide.
• Requests from local governments will no longer be made, but the government recommends refraining from going out for 5 days after symptoms appear.
• No more hospitalization recommendations or instructions; personal judgment
• Suspension from school will be shortened to 5 days after onset and 1 day after recovery, starting from the 7th.

Medical Provision / Medical Expenses

• Vaccines are free until March of the 6th year of Reiwa. After that, further considerations will be made.
• Inspection is generally at the individual's expense
• Outpatient treatment requires a co-payment based on insurance coverage
• Hospitalization treatment will be subsidized up to 20,000 yen until the end of September, and high-cost medications will be free until the end of September. Decisions after October will be made considering fairness with other diseases.
• The system for responding at designated infectious disease medical institutions and other limited medical facilities has ended, and we are gradually transitioning to a normal system where a wide range of medical institutions can handle inpatient and outpatient care.

Infection Control in Daily Life

• Masks will be subject to individual discretion starting from March 13 due to the initial easing of restrictions.
• Temperature checks and hand sanitizer installation at facility entrances are at the discretion of Business Operators

In this way, the post-COVID-19 phase will gradually transition to a normal mode, but COVID-19 itself has not disappeared, and the WHO continues to urge vigilance. Therefore, the city will continue the crisis management headquarters for the time being. We ask for your continued cooperation in infection prevention measures and vaccination.