The government coronavirus response task force decided Friday to end an array of COVID-19 measures from May 8, when it will downgrade the legal category of the disease to the same level as seasonal flu.

The move, in line with the government’s decision to “live with the coronavirus,” means much of the state support for screening and treatments for the disease — introduced at the outset of the pandemic three years ago — will be scaled back. Similarly, free testing and outpatient care for those who test positive for COVID-19 will end.

But since the drugs recently approved for the disease are quite expensive, the government will, at least until the end of September, continue to pay for their costs and subsidize hospitalization fees by up to ¥20,000 per month, officials said.

Meanwhile, the government aims to increase the number of medical institutions that treat COVID-19 patients from the current 42,600 to around 64,000, a level equivalent to the number of hospitals and clinics capable of seeing flu patients.

With the categorization change, doctors will no longer be allowed to turn away patients merely on the grounds of a possible COVID-19 infection, officials said. Currently, because the disease is classified as an infectious disease as dangerous as tuberculosis, avian flu and SARS, patients suspected of having COVID-19 are treated only at designated hospitals and fever clinics.

“The COVID health care system will shift from one where the government intervenes to order hospitalization and only a limited number of hospitals provide care to one with a normal, autonomous system involving a wide range of hospitals,” health minister Katsunobu Kato told a news conference. “We will coordinate with prefectural governments and urge the participation of more medical institutions in COVID care.”

The government will continue the free vaccination program for another year, until March 2024, but the current program targeting the general population will end on May 7.

From May 8, fresh booster doses will become available only for the elderly and people with pre-existing conditions. Booster vaccination of the general population will resume in the fall.

While the government will end free, widespread PCR testing of the population, it will support municipal governments to carry out tests at high-risk institutions, such as hospitals, nursing homes and facilities for people with disabilities when there is an outbreak, according to the new policy.

With the reclassification of the disease, the government will also end all border controls or testing of people arriving in the country. But in the event of the emergence of a new and highly pathogenic variant, the government will still take measures to slow its spread through quarantine measures under a clause specified by the Quarantine Law, the policy document said.