A novel coronavirus package of measures focusing on securing vaccines, providing financial support to medical institutions and improving testing systems will be explained by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during a press conference on Friday, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned.
The government has reached a basic agreement with major pharmaceutical companies, AstraZeneca PLC of Britain and Pfizer Inc. of the United States to receive at least 120 million doses of a vaccine if the companies succeed in developing one. Under the package, the government will use reserve funds from the second supplementary budget for fiscal 2020 to expedite the supply of vaccines.
As for support for medical institutions, emergency comprehensive support grants for prefectures will be increased. In the second supplementary budget, 1.6279 trillion yen was earmarked for medical institutions. However, the government has decided it is necessary to increase the budget because the business environment of medical institutions has been deteriorating due to the tendency of patients not to visit them.
The package will also include a plan to improve the ability to carry out testing, such as PCR tests and antigen tests through which results can be obtained in a shorter time. A policy to strengthen health centers, which are busy with work such as identifying infection routes, will also be included.
The prime minister is expected to announce that the government will continue its generous employment program for the time being. For example, it will extend the deadline for the preferential employment measure for the employment adjustment grants, which subsidizes part of companies' allowances for employees' leave, from the end of September to the end of the year.
Regarding the positioning of the novel coronavirus as a designated infectious disease under the law on infectious diseases, Abe is expected to announce the government will ask an advisory body to the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry to discuss a review of it because some observers say such a high designation has increased the burden on medical institutions.
Concerned about the coronavirus? Look for information and contact numbers here if you suspect you have contracted the virus and are exhibiting symptoms.
PLEASE NOTEThe Japan News is providing this story for free to help all readers keep informed about the coronavirus.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
