The government is considering dropping its recommendation that people wear face masks at school graduation and entrance ceremonies this spring after assessing the risk of infection with COVID-19 at such events to be low, a person familiar with the matter said Friday.
A decision will likely be made early this month based on an assessment by experts, the person said, as Japan seeks to normalize its public health measures toward pre-pandemic levels after fighting the virus for over three years.
The government is already planning to reclassify the coronavirus to the same medical category as common infectious diseases such as seasonal influenza from May 8, paving the way for further relaxing preventative measures.