TOKYO -- Japan's quarantine period for COVID infections will be shortened to five days from seven, starting May 8, the government said on Friday, as part of a broader shift to a nationwide reopening from the pandemic. Under the new rule, school children, for example, will need to self-quarantine for five days.
The shorter quarantine period will take effect on May 8, when COVID is downgraded on the nation's infectious disease scale to Class 5 from Class 2, giving it the same status as seasonal flu.
