Japanese prefectural governors Friday released an emergency proposal urging the central government to exempt people from COVID-19 contact tracing if they are within a certain period from their latest vaccinations.

The National Governors’ Association compiled the proposal to deal with the current seventh wave of novel coronavirus infections in the country at a meeting in the western city of Nara.

The association also adopted the Nara declaration to express their commitment to work together with the central government to overcome “one of the most difficult times in the post-World War II period” marked by the prolonged COVID-19 crisis and soaring prices.

In the emergency proposal, the governors said that the spread of the highly contagious BA.5 omicron variant is “affecting the maintenance and continuity of social functions.”

They urged the central government to consider shortening the required isolation periods for coronavirus sufferers and close contacts and reviewing the scope of people subject to contact tracing.

The current classification of the novel coronavirus as equivalent to Class II, the second-highest level on the five-stage scale of danger of designated infectious diseases under the infectious disease law, leads to heavy burdens on the medical system, the governors said.

They urged the state to consider whether it is necessary to keep track of all new infection cases as conducted under the classification, while citing the need to make some preparations, such as securing COVID-19 drugs, before easing the current measures. 

The governors also called for expanding the scope of people eligible for fourth vaccine shots.

JIJI Press