The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare will announce a specific policy by early March regarding medical expenses and the medical care provision system after the position of the new coronavirus under the Infectious Diseases Act has been moved to "Type 5", and will proceed with a phased review. I am planning to continue.
The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare is discussing issues in the event that the position of the new coronavirus under the Infectious Diseases Act is shifted to category 5 at the infectious disease subcommittee of experts.
Until now, issues such as how to respond to patients and the system for providing medical care have been organized as points of contention, and the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare will create a specific policy to facilitate the preparation of medical sites and local governments, and the plan is to start in early March. will be shown.
Of these, in terms of dealing with patients, etc., medical expenses such as hospitalization and outpatient care are currently covered by public funds. We plan to review it step by step so that it does not happen.
In addition, regarding the medical care provision system, since it will be possible to accept patients at general medical institutions, we aim to establish a system that allows patients to receive medical care at a wide range of medical institutions, and we aim to make a gradual transition while taking necessary infection control measures.
From next month, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare will proceed with full-scale discussions on reviewing individual issues and measures.
On May 8th, the transition to "Type 5" will be officially decided today
Regarding the position of the new corona under the Infectious Diseases Act, the government plans to move it to "5", the same as seasonal influenza, etc., on May 8, and will officially decide at the new corona countermeasures headquarters on the 27th. .
On the 26th, Prime Minister Kishida held a final meeting with Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare Kato on the timing of shifting the status of the new corona under the Infectious Diseases Act from the current "type 2" to "type 5", which is the same as seasonal influenza. We had a discussion.
As a result, we decided to secure sufficient preparation time for local governments and medical institutions, and to take all possible measures to prevent infection during the long holidays when people move a lot. 5”, and will be officially decided at the New Corona Countermeasures Headquarters on the 27th.
Regarding the handling of medical expenses after the transition, the government is concerned that more people will refrain from receiving medical care if they have to pay their own expenses, so for the time being, the government will continue to pay public expenses and reduce them in stages.
In addition, currently, masks are not required outdoors in principle, and are recommended to be worn indoors with some exceptions.
On the other hand, the government has abolished the current upper limit of 50% of the capacity of the venue for the number of people who can participate in loud events, and has established a policy of allowing up to 100% of the capacity to enter if infection control measures are taken. We will begin operation immediately after a decision is made by the task force.