Taipei sets new quarantine rule for contacts of COVID-19 patients
ROC Central News Agency
07/17/2021 10:01 PM
Taipei, July 17 (CNA) Taipei residents listed as contacts of people confirmed as having COVID-19 are now required to isolate themselves for 14 days at designated quarantine hotels, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-che (柯文哲) announced at a press briefing Saturday.
The new measure, which took effect Saturday, applies to all Taipei residents who come in contact with an infected patient except for those who are able to self-isolate alone in their own homes, Ko said.
The stricter regulation is likely to remain in place until infections in the capital city drop to zero, Ko said, without specifying an exact timetable.
According to the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC), contacts of COVID-19 patients should isolate themselves for 14 days in their own homes.
During that time, they should not share a bedroom and bathroom with others living under the same roof and should refrain from having any direct physical contact with other people.
Those who are unable to abide by the rules are advised to stay in quarantine hotels.
Ko said about 10 percent of the Taipei residents who have been listed as contacts eventually came down with the disease, citing city government data.
The new measure is an attempt to prevent people who are in isolation from spreading the virus to their family members or roommates, Ko said.
About one-third of the domestic COVID-19 cases recorded in the city have been identified as infections within households, city government data showed.
Under the city's broad definition, however, household transmission of the virus refers not only to families living under the same roof, but also to people living in shared apartments or having social gatherings in someone's home.
It was not immediately clear if people listed as contacts will have to pay to stay in a designated quarantine hotel.
The city government is leaning toward exempting them from paying for their accommodation, Ko said, but that part of the proposal will not be finalized until the city completes negotiations with hotels.
Currently, both the CECC and Taipei provide subsidies of up to NT$14,000 (US$500) and NT$7,000, respectively, to people who stay in quarantine hotels for the 14-day mandatory quarantine or self-isolation, and a Taipei resident can apply for both stipends.
Beyond isolating contacts of COVID-19 patients, Ko said the vaccination process is also key to reducing household transmissions of the disease.
He said that about 27.8 percent of all Taipei residents have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and the figure is expected to rise to 34 percent by next Thursday.
The mayor urged people not to choose between different vaccine brands and to get a vaccine jab as soon as vaccines become available to them.
(By Chen Yi-hsuan, Liu Chien-pang and Teng Pei-ju)
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