Japan opens, France drops virus passport

| March 4, 2022

Japan is set loosen border controls while French authorities announced the end of the use of the COVID-19 vaccine passport this month and as coronavirus case numbers fall in Sweden.

More people will be able to enter Japan, especially students, although the government has extended infection control measures to limit the spread of the coronavirus in several areas, including Tokyo.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Thursday the country would this month raise the number of people who can enter Japan to 7000 a day from 5000 at present, while exempting students from the daily limit and treating them as a separate category.

Kishida told a news conference the government would ease border restrictions further but gradually depending on the virus situation globally.

The further easing of the country’s strict border measures comes amid criticism that Tokyo’s calibrated approach allowed only a trickle of foreigners.

About 150,000 foreign students have been kept out of Japan since 2020, along with workers desperately needed by the ageing country with a shrinking population, prompting warnings of labour shortages and damage to Japan’s international reputation.

While the number of new COVID-19 cases has started to fall, hospitals remain under stress as they battle the Omicron coronavirus variant. 

The central government has received requests from five prefectures, including Kyoto and Osaka in western Japan, to extend infection control measures set to expire on Sunday, chief cabinet secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said on Wednesday.

Kishida said the virus curbs including shorter hours at eateries and bars would be extended for another two weeks for 18 regions including Tokyo.

Meanwhile, rules requiring people to show a COVID-19 vaccine passport to access venues will be lifted in France on March 14 – about a month before the presidential election – French Prime Minister Jean Castex said.

“The health situation is improving,” Castex told TF1 television on Thursday.

Face masks will also no longer be needed indoors from March 14, with the exception of public transport.

The vaccine pass, however, remains mandatory to access elderly home care centers, Castex added.

COVID-19 cases in Sweden are falling sharply, the country’s health agency said on Thursday, less than a month after nearly all pandemic-related restrictions were lifted.

The government removed curbs on restaurant opening hours and attendance limits for indoor venues on February 9, in a move that drew criticism from scientists at the time.

The number of cases is difficult to assess in Sweden given reduced testing but the proportion of positive cases and the number of patients requiring hospital care have both declined.

“There are no indications that the opening increased spread so we assess that it was relevant and correct,” Health Agency Director-General Karin Tegmark Wisell told a news conference.

“We feel very comfortable with the situation, regardless of the spread, as we have such a level of vaccination and that the Omicron variant results in less serious disease,” she said.

The number of patients requiring intensive care was 53 on Thursday, down 24 from last week, while the total number reuiring care fell to 1300 from about 1600.

Sweden stood out during the first year of the pandemic, shunning lockdowns and instead focusing on voluntary steps to promote distancing and good hygiene.

More than 17,000 Swedes have died from or with COVID-19, many times higher per capita than in its Nordic neighbours but less than in most European countries that opted for lockdowns.