The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday announced a loosening of regulations for people under quarantine who need to apply for compassionate leave, as it reiterated warnings not to become complacent about COVID-19, given the increase in case numbers in some nations after they lifted lockdowns or stay-at-home orders.
The CECC in late April said that people under home isolation or quarantine who wanted to attend the funeral of a first or second-degree family member or visit a terminally ill relative would be allowed to do so if they had been in quarantine or isolation for more than five days, not have COVID-19 symptoms and paid on their own for a COVID-19 test at a designated hospital.
While those conditions remain the same, the amount of leave that an applicant can take has been increased, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), head of the center, told a news conference in Taipei.
Applicants could take leave once a day for two hours at a time — not including travel time — but would have to wear a mask, maintain safe social distancing and not use public transportation, Chen said.
The CECC has commissioned the Taiwan Public Health Association to conduct a wide-scale survey of how people are adhering to disease prevention measures, and it would adjust its policies according to the results, he said.
COVID-19 numbers have rapidly increased in some countries after they lifted their lockdowns, such as Israel, so while high summertime temperatures in Taiwan and the lack of new domestic COVID-19 cases might entice people not to wear masks in public, it is important to continue to practice personal hygiene and social distancing, he said.
After regulations were eased on June 7, he has seen very few people wearing masks at night markets, Chen said.
In related news, Chang Shan-chwen (張上淳), convener of the center’s advisory specialist panel, said that antibody test results of the high-risk contacts of a Japanese student who was tested positive after returning to Japan late last month have all been negative.
Five different COVID-19 antibody test kits were used to test blood samples from each of the 123 students and teachers who had close contact with the Japanese student, as well as 90 students and teachers who reported respiratory symptoms or a fever during the period she was studying at a school in southern Taiwan, Chang said.
If she really did have COVID-19, rather than receiving a false positive result, the antibody tests conducted on her contacts showed that her case was of unknown infection, like 11 prior domestic cases, Chang said.
Those tests showed that she had not spread the virus to any close contacts and did not pose a risk to the local community, he added.
Asked about the local risk of asymptomatic cases, Chang said that the CECC remains vigilant, but the risk of local infection in Taiwan was much lower than in nations with wider local outbreaks.
In other developments, Chen said that Taiwanese returning from Wuhan, China, would no longer be quarantined at centralized facilities, but could choose to be quarantined at home or at quarantine hotels, just like those returning from other countries.
Asked if there were plans to allow Chinese spouses of Taiwanese and their children to return to Taiwan, Chen said not at this time.
The COVID-19 situation in China remains unclear, as Beijing says its confirmed cases have declined even as it enforces stricter movement restrictions, Chen said.
Meanwhile, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Geneva, Switzerland, has been closed for 14 days after an employee tested positive for COVID-19, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) announced on Tuesday.
The official’s positive test was confirmed on Monday, after the man sought medical treatment last week for a tight chest, she said.
The rest of the staff and their families are being tested for COVID-19, but none have shown symptoms, she said.
Additional reporting by CNA
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