The government might relax quarantine measures for people who visited Palau under a “travel bubble” arrangement if all first returnees test negative for COVID-19, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday.
The first group of 100 travelers left for Palau under the scheme on April 1 and returned to Taiwan on Sunday.
Upon return, they are required to practice 14 days of self-health management, including stricter measures on the first five days, the center said, adding that additional measures would apply should any group member test positive.
Photo: CNA
All returnees have thus far observed the rules so that the stricter measures on the first days might be waived for future groups, it said, adding that it hopes this would boost the sales of the tours, which have thus far been sluggish.
Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥), who is also the CECC spokesman, said that the returnees were tested yesterday, and the results would come back tomorrow.
If they all test negative, the center might relax the rules for future groups, Chuang said.
The center yesterday reported one suspected serious reaction to the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.
After receiving the jab, a man in his 20s experienced fever and headache, but his symptoms have eased after treatment with antipyretic painkillers and a saline drip, Chuang said.
While fever is a common reaction to the vaccine, the case was classified as a suspected serious adverse reaction because of the medical treatment, Chuang said, adding that classification criteria might be updated.
As of Thursday, 21,807 people have received the vaccine in Taiwan, including 1,687 on that day, CECC data showed.
The center on Thursday reported a first suspected serious adverse reaction to the vaccine: bruises on the body of a man, also in his 20s.
The bruises appeared on the fifth day after he received the jab, but have since eased, Chuang said, adding that doctors ruled out blood clotting.
The CECC has no plan to stop the rollout of the AstraZeneca vaccine, but people who want to get vaccinated should consult a doctor in advance, he said.
Meanwhile, the center yesterday reported four new imported cases of the virus, bringing the total number of cases in Taiwan to 1,054.
One new case was a Taiwanese in her 50s who lives in Italy, but has been in Taiwan since Dec. 27 last year, the center said.
On Tuesday, she sought treatment for fever at a hospital, where she was subsequently tested, the CECC said.
On Wednesday, she experienced shortness of breath and was transferred to a negative-pressure isolation ward for treatment, the center said.
Her test result came back positive yesterday, the CECC said, adding that it classifies the case as imported because her CT value of 34 and COVID-19 antibodies suggest that she was infected a while ago.
CT values indicate the viral load. The higher the CT value in a person’s blood, the lower the viral load, with a reading in the mid or high 30s suggesting that only non-infectious viral debris is present.
The second and third cases were two migrant workers in their 20s from the Philippines, one female and one male, the CECC said.
The fourth case was a Taiwanese in his 30s who had been in the UK for work since January last year, the center said, adding that he tested positive after returning on March 26.
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