The criteria for releasing COVID-19 cases from isolation have been eased slightly, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) announced yesterday.
Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said that specialists attended a meeting yesterday morning to discuss the criteria for releasing people with mild or no COVID-19 symptoms.
To preserve healthcare capacity and as more has been learned about the virus, those at the meeting suggested that the criteria be modified, he said.
Photo: CNA
As of Saturday, of the 1,530 local cases reported this year, 1,527, or 99.8 percent, were asymptomatic or had mild symptoms, Chen said.
Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞), deputy head of the CECC’s medical response division, said that people who tested positive for COVID-19 with a cycle threshold (Ct) value lower than 30 in their first polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test would no longer need to isolate for 10 days after the onset of symptoms or after the day they first tested positive.
People who test positive with a Ct value of 30 or more in their first PCR test would no longer be required to wait until they test positive for antibodies to the nucleocapsid protein of SARS-CoV-2, he said.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
They can be released from isolation if they test negative or have Ct values above 30 in two consecutive PCR tests, Lo said.
Based on studies in other countries and clinical observations of local cases, about 20 percent of COVID-19 cases did not develop antibodies to the nucleocapsid protein of SARS-CoV-2, so the specialists agreed to remove the criterion, he said.
However, some overseas arrivals, who test positive due to a previous infection and meet the release criteria in a short period, might have contracted another COVID-19 variant just before or during their trip, so those released from isolation within seven days of their arrival would still be subject to home isolation until the 10th day after their arrival, Lo said, adding that they would have to undergo a PCR test before being released.
All COVID-19 cases would also be required to practice seven days of self-health management after release from isolation, and undergo two rapid tests during those seven days, he said.
Chen said that the main goal is for people to go about their daily lives as normally as possible, but continue disease prevention measures.
That means the government would not impose restrictions on necessary daily activities, he said.
The center encourages people to get vaccinated and respond to possible infections by getting tested and informing their close contacts if they test positive, he said, adding that the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 can still cause severe illness and death, and unvaccinated older people are more at risk.
Taiwan yesterday reported 183 local and 97 imported COVID-19 cases.
The local cases include residents of 12 cities and counties, Chen said, adding that among the local cases, 117 are linked to previous infection clusters, while 66 have no cluster link.
Forty-five cases are linked to a cluster in Keelung associated with police officers, restaurants with escort services and schools, he said, adding that the cluster has so far expanded to 205 cases.
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