Japan scraps plan to criminalize disobedient COVID-19 patients

Japan's ruling party agreed Thursday to scrap a plan to make it a criminal offense for COVID-19 patients to refuse hospitalization, ceding to opposition criticism that the punishment was too harsh.The introduction of a prison sentence of up to one year had been part of Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's efforts to bolster the government's ability to fight a recent surge in infections.The ruling Liberal Democratic Party and the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan did, however, agree on fines to penalize uncooperative COVID-19 patients as well as restaurants and bars that re…READ FULL ARTICLE