The Japanese government will introduce a new policy on battling the new influenza that will allow local governments to keep mild patients at home instead of hospitalising them as under the current policy, according to a policy draft.
Under the new policy, which is to be decided today at a meeting of the government task force on the new flu, areas with confirmed infections will be classified into two categories depending on the level of spread to adopt different measures to cope with the disease.
Areas with widespread infections will be allowed to keep mild patients at home until their recovery and local hospitals will be permitted to accept the new-flu patients, while areas with limited infections will have to hospitalise all infected patients in specified medical facilities regardless of their health condition, it said.
The move comes as local governments including the Kobe city government demanded change in the policy so that they can take measures on their own and respond to the situation more flexibly.
The latest policy will also simplify the quarantine tests at airports and on board aircraft and focus on collecting health information on people traveling rather than checking all the flights.
