Continuing to be cautious: Japanese contact patterns during the COVID-19 pandemic and their association with public health recommendations.

ABSTRACT: Despite implementing no lockdowns and having a large elderly population, Japan had a low mortality rate due to COVID-19 compared to Europe and North America. The extent to which policies impacted person-to-person contact remains unclear. In this study, we examined changes in contact patterns and their association with behaviors and governmental recommendations in Japan during the pandemic. Ten social contact surveys were conducted between 2021 and 2023 reaching over 1500 participants per survey in Osaka and Fukuoka prefectures where governmental recommendations were first implemented due to high COVID-19 incidence. Their contact patterns were assessed through their demographic characteristics, COVID-19 vaccination status, and individual disease mitigation measures. Generalized linear model

SUBMITTER: Nakamura T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12459842 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature