TOKYO: The Japanese government plans to keep COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus, as a specified infectious disease under the infectious disease law for the time being, health minister Norihisa Tamura said Saturday.

Currently, the designation is set to expire at the end of January next year.

“We are likely to continue to handle COVID-19 as a specified infectious disease until we have a clear understanding of the characteristics of the virus,” Tamura said in a television program on the day.

In February this year, the government put into effect ordinances designating COVID-19 as a specified infectious disease under the law, to make it possible for public authorities to advise patients to be hospitalized and to limit their work.

“We are not in a situation where we are able to contain the virus epidemic in a stable manner,” Tamura said, referring to repeated surges in infections.

Under the infectious disease law, the designation can be extended for a year.

But the minister stopped short of mentioning for how long the designation should be extended.

JIJI Press