Starting on Thursday next week, people in home isolation who return a positive COVID-19 rapid antigen test result are to be counted as confirmed cases, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) announced yesterday.
At present, close contacts under government-mandated home quarantine or self-initiated home isolation are required to take a more accurate, but more time-consuming polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test to be confirmed as positive.
However, due to overcrowding at PCR test sites, people who return a positive rapid test result from next week can report it and have it evaluated by a healthcare professional using the EUCARE (健康益友) telemedicine app.
Photo: CNA
Should their test be confirmed as positive, they will be prohibited from leaving their homes for 10 days and must follow self-health management protocols for another seven days, the CECC said.
Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said the new policy would prevent those returning a positive rapid test result from rushing to potentially crowded PCR testing sites.
The CECC also announced that people with COVID-19 in home quarantine can now receive the antiviral medications Paxlovid and molnupiravir, after 20,000 courses of the drugs were delivered to key pharmacies across the nation.
Photo courtesy of the Central Epedemic Command Center
The drugs were previously only available to patients in hospitals, government quarantine centers or designated hotels.
Paxlovid can be prescribed to treat mild or moderate cases of COVID-19 within five days of the onset of symptoms for adults and children aged 12 or older with a minimum weight of 40kg, if they are assessed to be at a high risk of developing severe illness.
Molnupiravir can be prescribed to treat patients aged 18 or older with mild to moderate COVID-19 within five days of the onset of symptoms if they are assessed to be at a high risk of developing severe illness and cannot use other types of COVID-19 medication.
People with COVID-19 are considered high-risk if they are 65 years old or older, current or former smokers, have a body mass index higher than 29, or certain disabilities, said Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞), who is also the deputy head of the CECC’s medical response division.
The list also includes those who have cancer, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, cardiovascular diseases (excluding high blood pressure), chronic lung diseases, tuberculosis, chronic liver diseases, dementia, mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, and autoimmune diseases, Lo said.
COVID-19 patients quarantining at home can arrange for a doctor’s appointment via the EUCARE app or through local health authorities, where they will be evaluated to determine their eligibility to receive the antiviral drugs, Lo said.
After getting a prescription, patients can arrange for pharmacies to deliver the medication or have someone get it for them, either via the EUCARE app or by contacting a pharmacy directly.
A list of the pharmacies participating in the program is available on the Federation of Taiwan Pharmacist Association’s Web site, Lo added.
Taiwan has used only 947 courses of Paxlovid and 468 courses of molnupiravir, out of the 370,000 and 5,000 courses that have been delivered respectively, Lo said.
Taiwan saw its single-day COVID-19 case number surpass 30,000 for the first time yesterday after reporting 30,106 new cases and five deaths from the disease.
The five deaths were two patients in their 70s who had received two or three doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, and three others in their 20s, 50s and 80s who were unvaccinated.
The patient in his 20s had a nervous system disorder, and had been bed-ridden and reliant on a ventilator for a significant amount of time prior to contracting COVID-19, the CECC said.
The CECC also reported that 67 patients had developed moderate symptoms and six had developed severe symptoms.
Of the 30,035 domestic cases reported yesterday, New Taipei City topped the list with 10,122, followed by Taipei with 6,422, Taoyuan with 4,872, Taichung with 1,776 and Kaohsiung with 1,136.
Keelung reported 924 cases, Tainan 847, Yilan County 675, Hualien County 625, Hsinchu County 570, Pingtung County 460, Changhua County 382, Yunlin County 246, Miaoli County 204, Hsinchu City 194, Taitung County 152, Nantou County 151 and Chiayi County 121.
Chiayi City reported 93 cases, Penghu County 35, Kinmen County 22 and Matsu six.
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