Photo/Illutration A student gives a speech with mask-clad classmates in the background at a graduation ceremony at the municipality-run Fuji Junior High School in Tokyo's Setagaya Ward on March 18, 2022. (Taku Hosokawa)

Wearing masks indoors or outdoors could be left up to the individual beginning in mid-March as the government has begun working to revise its recommendations on mask-wearing.

It will decide the exact timing to revise the recommendations at a meeting of its Novel Coronavirus Response Headquarters to be held on Feb. 10, at the earliest.

Earlier, experts advising the health ministry on COVID-19 said that not wearing masks at school graduation or entrance ceremonies, typically held in spring in Japan, “could be considered” if attendees exercise precautions such as practicing social distancing.

“(Not wearing masks) can be possible if (school officials and teachers) put in place measures to prevent infections other than wearing masks and then agree to hold a graduation or entrance ceremony without masks because they feel it’s a once-in-a-lifetime event,” said Takaji Wakita, one of the experts and director-general of the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, on Feb. 8.

The experts presented scientific grounds for the efficacy of mask-wearing, however, saying the risk of mask-wearers contracting the novel coronavirus is 0.76 times that of non-mask wearers.

It has been reported that everyone at a school wearing a mask reduces the risk of catching the novel coronavirus, experts said.

However, allowing attendees to go without masks at school graduation or entrance ceremonies “could be considered” if COVID-19 cases stabilize, they said.

The experts listed precautions that attendees and others concerned should keep in mind if they decide not to wear a mask at school graduation or entrance ceremonies.

These include that students should not attend such ceremonies if they are unwell and attendees should practice social distancing. In addition, proper ventilation should be ensured at venues and attendees should not talk at close range to one another.

Finally, deciding on whether to wear a mask at such ceremonies should be left up to the individual.

The experts also presented their opinions on the efficacy of mask use, saying wearing a mask is generally effective both in not catching the virus and not transmitting it.

The experts analyzed 78 studies and found the risk of mask-wearers catching the novel coronavirus in one week was 0.84 times that of non-wearers, they said.

They also found that when the observation period was extended to two weeks, the risk of mask-wearers contracting the virus was even lower--0.76 times that of non-wearers.

However, there was no difference found between mask-wearers and non-mask wearers regarding the risk of catching the novel coronavirus when there is only a small portion of mask-wearers present, as reported among the population of Denmark.

They also found that an analysis of 21 studies suggested wearing a mask helps prevent human-to-human transmission of the novel coronavirus.

The analysis found that the number of new COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths due to the novel coronavirus tended to decline in regions in the world where mask-wearing was recommended.

The government's revised recommendations are also expected to say that mask-wearing is still recommended when, for example, older people visit crowded places when COVID-19 is spreading, or when anyone visits hospitals or facilities for older people such as care homes.

The government intends to downgrade the novel coronavirus to category 5, the same level as seasonal influenza, under the infectious disease prevention law on May 8.

(This article was written by Kai Ichino and Mirei Jinguji.)

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