With the government announcing on Friday that it will change the legal category of COVID-19 on May 8, there’s now increased ambiguity as to how society should approach the pandemic. When exactly should people put on or take off masks? Can children be unmasked everywhere? Should stores and restaurants ditch hand sanitizers and plexiglass barriers?
The answer now, according to officials, is to “use your own judgment.”
On Friday, a health ministry committee agreed that the nation should change its COVID-19 response to value “individual choices,” including on whether to wear masks indoors or outdoors. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida explained his decision later in the day after convening a Cabinet meeting and officially deciding to downgrade the disease to one on par with seasonal flu, with the change coming into effect after the Golden Week holidays.