Although the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 has been detected in imported cases, Taiwan’s border controls are not to be tightened, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) said yesterday, adding that a level 2 COVID-19 alert might be lowered after the Lunar New Year holiday.
On Saturday, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) reported that the Omicron variant had been identified in three imported cases, travelers from Eswatini, the UK and the US.
It was no surprise to find that the Omicron variant had arrived in Taiwan, as the variant has infected many people in many countries, so it would eventually cross Taiwan’s border, Chen, who heads the center, told a news briefing in Taipei yesterday.
Photo: Chiu Chih-jou, Taipei Times
While the Omicron variant is highly transmissible, it so far seems to cause less severe symptoms than other variants, including the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2, he said, adding that existing border controls are ample to help detect most cases.
“There is no single method that can protect Taiwan from COVID-19, so multiple preventive measures must be implemented at different levels,” Chen said. “At the personal level, everyone should still wear a mask, frequently wash their hands, practice social distancing and get vaccinated.”
The government is purchasing oral antiviral COVID-19 drugs and has medical response measures prepared, he added.
Asked whether the government should purchase enough antiviral doses for about 20 percent of the population, Chen said that the incidence of COVID-19 in Taiwan is about 70 cases per 100,000 people, so that would not be necessary.
Twenty percent of the population is about 4.7 million people so that would be an excessive amount, he said, adding that the government should instead focus on preventing outbreaks and increasing vaccination coverage.
On a radio show hosted by former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) in Kaohsiung yesterday, Chen was asked whether the level 2 COVID-19 alert would remain unchanged for the foreseeable future.
The alert would not continue forever, he said, adding that he hoped the COVID-19 situation after the Lunar New Year holiday would allow the alert level to be lowered.
In related news, the center yesterday said that 259 people associated with a case reported on Thursday — a former Academia Sinica researcher who conducted experiments with mice infected with COVID-19 — had so far all tested negative.
Of the woman’s contacts, 105 close contacts were in isolation, while 154 people who might have had contact with her were practicing self-health management, CECC data showed.
It is good news that they have so far all tested negative, but the CECC would closely monitor if there was community spread, Chen said.
Procedures at the laboratory did not seem to be at fault, the center said, adding that the researcher had said she remembered removing her gloves before taking off her protective clothing on a day when a mouse had bitten her.
Further investigation was needed to clarify the infection source, the center added.
Yesterday, six travelers arriving in Taiwan — from Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and the US — tested positive for COVID-19, the center said.
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