Prime Minister Kishida held talks with Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare Kato and others regarding the timing of shifting the status of the new corona to "Category 5" under the Infectious Diseases Act.

It seems that they had a final discussion on when to transition specifically.

Regarding the position of the new corona under the Infectious Diseases Act, Prime Minister Kishida last week, in principle, will consider moving from the current "type 2" to "type 5", which is the same as seasonal influenza, in the spring of this year. I instructed Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare Kato.



Prime Minister Kishida met again with Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare Kato and others at the Prime Minister's official residence shortly after 5:30 pm on the 26th.



At the meeting, it seems that they had final discussions on when to transition to "class 5".



Based on the results of the consultation, the government plans to hold a meeting such as the New Corona Countermeasures Headquarters on the 27th and formally decide the timing of the transition.

Concern about increased risk of infection among home medical doctors

Regarding the reclassification of the new corona to five categories under the Infectious Diseases Act, doctors involved in home medical care have raised concerns about how far the medical provision system will be secured and the risk of infection will increase.



Dr. Atsushi Sasaki, the director of the medical corporation “Yushokai” in Minato-ku, Tokyo, which operates home medical clinics in the Tokyo metropolitan area, is also visiting the homes of corona patients. going.



Regarding the review of the classification, he said, ``I think that the number of medical institutions that accept corona patients will increase as a message that general hospitals should accept corona patients by becoming 5. However, we want to protect patients from the risk of infection as much as possible. Medical professionals who believe that they may be cautious about not accepting corona patients as they have been doing, and it is unclear how many medical institutions will actually accept them.



On top of that, he said, ``Many of the patients at home are elderly or have underlying diseases, so the response will not change significantly, and it will continue to be important to prevent infection in the first place. If that happens, the number of people who do not test will increase, and even if they have a fever or are slightly unwell, there will be people who will not self-quarantine and will live a normal life, making it difficult to prevent infection. He pointed out that the burden of not infecting patients may be even greater for medical and nursing care workers working in the field.

Transition to "Type 5" What the Tokyo Metropolitan Government requested from the government

Regarding the position of the new corona under the Infectious Diseases Act, the government's policy to shift to "Type 5" was explained at the meeting held on the 26th of the capital's request to the government for the transition. .



According to it, "the pathogenicity and infectivity of the virus will not change even if it shifts to type 5, and the spread of infection will continue to occur." In addition to advancing the transition in stages, it is necessary to clarify the health and medical care provision system after the transition at an early stage in order to ensure a smooth transition.



Specifically,


regarding vaccination, we will clarify future vaccination plans at an early stage and continue to cover vaccination costs with public

funds


, ▽ To prevent the occurrence of clusters


,


we are requesting that staff at facilities for the elderly continue to be inspected.



Furthermore, with regard to the medical care provision system,


▽ continue to add medical fees so that patients with fever can be seen promptly,


▽ continue to secure hospital beds and adjust hospitalization for pregnant women, children, and severely ill patients, and ▽ level of care. In order to secure a medical care system for the elderly, etc., who have a


high cost of living, temporary medical facilities should be continued. I'm looking for



After the meeting, Governor Koike said, ``The change in the legal status of the coronavirus does not mean that the measures we are taking now will become unnecessary.'' He called for infection prevention measures such as wearing masks, and the importance of stockpiling medicines and food in case of fever.