Taipei residents listed as contacts of confirmed COVID-19 cases are required to isolate for 14 days at designated quarantine hotels, unless they are able to isolate alone in their own homes, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) announced at a news briefing on Saturday.
The new measure took effect on Saturday.
The regulation is likely to remain in place until infections in the capital city drop to zero, Ko said.
Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times
According to the Central Epidemic Command Center, contacts of COVID-19 cases must isolate for 14 days in their own homes.
During that time, they should not share a bedroom or bathroom with those living under the same roof, and they should refrain from having direct physical contact with other people.
Those who are unable to follow the rules must stay in quarantine hotels.
About 10 percent of the Taipei residents who were listed as contacts eventually came down with the disease, Ko said, citing city government data.
The new measure is an attempt to prevent people who are in isolation from spreading COVID-19 to their roommates or family members, Ko said.
About one-third of the domestic COVID-19 cases recorded in the city have been identified as infections within households, city government data showed.
However, under Taipei’s broad definition, household transmission of the virus refers not only to families living under the same roof, but also to people living in shared apartments or who have attended a social gathering in someone’s home.
It was not immediately clear if people listed as contacts would have to pay to stay in a designated quarantine hotel.
The city government is leaning toward exempting them from paying for their accommodation, but that part of the proposal would not be finalized until the city completes negotiations with hotels, Ko said.
The center and Taipei currently provide subsidies of up to NT$14,000 and NT$7,000 respectively for people who stay in quarantine hotels for the 14-day mandatory quarantine period or for self-isolation, and Taipei residents can apply for both.
Beyond isolating contacts of COVID-19 patients, Ko said that the vaccination process is also key to reducing household transmissions.
About 27.8 percent of all Taipei residents have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and the figure is expected to rise to 34 percent by Thursday, he said.
In other news, renowned Taiwanese restaurant chain Din Tai Fung yesterday announced the temporary closure of its Xinsheng branch in Taipei through Tuesday after two of its employees were confirmed to have COVID-19.
The Taipei Department of Health first said that one employee, who was responsible for packing food and had limited interaction with customers, had contracted the virus.
Later yesterday, Din Tai Fung reported that another worker at the branch was infected with COVID-19.
The worker, who checked and packed takeout orders and had not done a shift since Thursday, tested positive on Saturday, the department said.
The Xinsheng branch suspended operations and had all of its employees take a polymerase chain reaction test on Friday, after learning the previous day that a customer who tested positive for COVID-19 had visited the restaurant. The branch had reopened on Saturday.
It is unclear if there is a direct connection between the customer’s case and the employees’ cases.
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