Japan formally decided Friday to downgrade the legal status of the novel coronavirus on May 8 to the same category as common infectious diseases, such as seasonal influenza, to ease COVID-19 prevention rules, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said.In a major policy shift in its response to the three-year-long pandemic, the Japanese government would be able to relax existing intensive COVID-19 measures, including limiting the movements of infected people and their close contacts.The reclassification of COVID-19 to Class 5 came after a panel of experts under the health ministry agreed on the plan …READ FULL ARTICLE
