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Quarantine rules relaxed amid growing COVID cases from unknown sources

ROC Central News Agency

04/06/2022 06:57 PM

Taipei, April 6 (CNA) Home quarantine rules for people in Taiwan confirmed as having come into contact with COVID-19 positive individuals have been relaxed amid growing local infections from unknown sources, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said Wednesday.

Taiwan reported 281 new domestic cases Wednesday, the highest single-day number this year, with the source of infection still being investigated in 163 cases, according to the CECC.

Before the relaxed rules were announced, people listed as contacts of confirmed cases and ordered by the health authorities to isolate at home had to do so in an independent living unit.

Under the new rules, which came in effect Wednesday, people required to undergo home quarantine can do so in their residence, even if they do not live alone, according to the CECC.

The new rules have been introduced, said Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) during a CECC press briefing that day, because the current spread of COVID-19 in Taiwan mainly involves the more infectious Omicron variant of the virus.

In many cases, if one individual in a household is infected, others in the same residence often contract the virus, he said.

The figures do not include imported cases reclassified as domestic ones, nor retroactively removed cases. As of April 6, Taiwan recorded 2,342 domestic cases in 2022, while the total number of imported cases rose to 8,226 from 2,375 on Dec. 31.

It is preferable that the individual isolating at home has an en-suite washroom not being used by others in the same residence, but if proper disinfection measures are followed the washroom can be shared, according to the CECC.

If people in the same residence are all ordered to isolate at home, they can do so in the same place under the new rules, the CECC said.

However, the new rules do not apply to people undergoing the mandatory 10-day quarantine required for all arrivals in Taiwan, Chen said.

People who choose to isolate at home should complete the quarantine period alone, even if they are listed as contacts, for example, of infected fellow passengers on the flight to Taiwan, in order to avoid the spread of the virus from abroad, Chen said.

The CECC added that disease prevention measures will be reviewed and further adjusted, depending on the development of the COVID-19 situation in the country, which has seen more than 100 daily new domestic cases for the first six days of April.

If the number of new cases increases to a level that threatens to overwhelm Taiwan's health system, the CECC will consider allowing patients with mild symptoms to stay at home, Chen said.

(By Chang Ming-hsuan, Chen Chie-ling, Chiang Hui-chun and Kay Liu)

Enditem/AW