Photo/Illutration A Tokyo street scene on Jan. 25 (AP Photo)

The government has decided to downgrade the legal status of COVID-19 to a Class V contagious disease like seasonal flu, starting May 8.

Inevitably, people will want to know whether they should continue wearing face masks and, if so, under what circumstances.

Currently, the health ministry “recommends” mask wearing in settings where social distancing is difficult, for example, when riding in packed trains or conversing with others indoors. After the downgrade, it will be left to individuals to decide whether to wear a facial covering.

Mask wearing is part of the “new lifestyle” brought about by a set of safety protocols recommended by the government to combat the spread of the novel coronavirus. This included preventing dangerous “sanmitsu,” or “three Cs" situations: a confined environment where numerous people gather and come into close contact with each other, frequent hand washing with sanitizers and social distancing.

These precautions were introduced three years ago in line with recommendations by health experts.

To change these rules without causing confusion, the government needs to make careful efforts to build broad consensus based on diverse opinions.

For starters, decisions concerning face masks should be made through a comprehensive review of the norms for life under the pandemic as a whole. This requires a comprehensive assessment of the effectiveness of various measures backed by scientific evidence. If some steps are judged to be excessive or ineffective, the government should send a clear message that they are unnecessary.

The effectiveness of mask wearing to reduce the chance of spreading COVID-19 has been widely recognized. A high-quality mask helps protect not just the wearers but, more importantly, others by preventing the spread of droplets.

In certain types of facilities that tend to be hit by group infections, such as hospitals and nursing homes, mask wearing will remain essential.

On the other hand, some experts have warned about possible negative effects on child development by forcing children to wear masks. This complicated issue requires meticulous risk assessment and effective communication with the public based on individual situations and circumstances.

Toshimitsu Motegi, secretary-general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, recently noted that few people in other countries wear masks even indoors. “It is about time for Japan to follow the global standard,” he added.

But the Japanese government’s recommendations on face masks in certain circumstances, such as when social distancing is difficult, are based on guidelines established by the World Health Organization.

It should also be noted that Japan has one of the world’s highest ratios of elderly people. The wisdom of regarding the approach in Western countries, where deaths from COVID-19 per population are far larger than in Japan, as the standard is open to question.

Various opinion polls have shown that many Japanese remain cautious about abandoning face masks even though a majority supports the proposal to ease COVID-19 restrictions.

During a Jan. 27 meeting of a health ministry working group tasked with reviewing the legal classification of COVID-19, one member said downgrading the disease to Class V could be seen as a message that masks are no longer necessary.

A group of experts during the past week announced new basic principles for preventing infections, leaving it to individuals and groups to make their own decisions and implement measures themselves.

The group also referred to the importance of risk communication efforts involving interactive dialogue with citizens and other effective approaches as opposed to unilateral policy decisions by experts and policymakers.

This is an idea that merits serious consideration. The government should make sincere responses to these and other proposals concerning new COVID norms.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Jan. 28