Photo/Illutration People line up in front of a private PCR testing center in Tokyo, which only accepts those who made appointments, in August. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

With fears of a sixth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic this winter, the government plans to offer free PCR tests to anyone who fears for their health, even if they show no symptoms.

It will include free voluntary PCR testing in its overview of new measures to combat the health crisis that it hopes to draw up on Nov. 12 at the earliest.

Currently, PCR tests are provided at no charge for those who display symptoms such as fever or were in close contact with carriers and are deemed by doctors or public health centers to pose a health risk.

People with no symptoms are obliged to pay for a PCR test if they take one purely as a precautionary step.

The government intends to allow for voluntary free PCR testing for people with no symptoms at the discretion of prefectural authorities if there is a resurgence of the novel coronavirus that has already claimed more than 18,000 lives in Japan. Testing venues will be designated by prefectural governments.

The criteria to judge whether a sixth wave has hit will be decided later on the basis of guidelines adopted Nov. 8 to decide when to declare another state of emergency and the number of COVID-19 cases in each prefecture.

Even if emergency curbs are reintroduced, the government plans to ease restrictions on eating and drinking establishments and event operators through “a vaccine and testing package” that uses vaccine certificates and negative test results.

A pressing issue was how to reduce the financial burden on those who display no symptoms but still want to be tested.

“We will make efforts to expand walk-in free testing,” Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said in his policy speech in October.

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