Japan mulls shortening quarantine for COVID close contacts to 7 days

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TOKYO. KAZINFORM The Japanese government is considering shortening the quarantine period to seven days from the current 10 for people who have been in close contact with someone infected with the novel coronavirus, sources close to the matter said Thursday.

The move comes as the highly transmissible Omicron variant of the virus continues to spread rapidly, threatening to disrupt essential services. Japan on Thursday confirmed a record number of daily coronavirus infections for the third consecutive day with 78,920 new cases, Kyodo reports.

Japan's largest business lobby, the Japan Business Federation, has repeatedly urged the government to shorten the current quarantine period for close contacts.

«Why does Japan impose 10 days when the rest of the world requires only five?» said Masakazu Tokura, the head of the business lobby, also known as Keidanren, at a regular press conference on Monday.


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