The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday said that 451 close contacts and possible contacts of a local COVID-19 case reported last week have so far tested negative for COVID-19.
Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the CECC, said that 453 people were identified for COVID-19 testing from the case, a former researcher at Academia Sinica, with 451 testing negative so far.
They include 110 close contacts who were ordered to isolate, 35 people who are practicing self-health management and 306 who are practicing self-health monitoring, Chen said, adding that two people were still being tested.
The local health department can decide whether more people need to be tested, he said.
No new local cases or deaths were reported yesterday, he said, adding that 10 imported cases were confirmed, travelers from Bangladesh, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, the United Arab Emirates and the US.
Four of the imported cases are vaccine breakthrough infections, CECC data showed.
The Lunar New Year Holiday Quarantine Program, which has three options for the 14-day period, was implemented from yesterday, the CECC said.
Chen said that 826 people were expected to arrive in Taiwan yesterday, with 177 (about 21 percent) choosing the original “14+0(+7)” option, 92 (about 11 percent) choosing the “10+4(+7)” option and 557 (about 67 percent) choosing the “7+7(+7)” option.
Among those who chose the “7+7(+7)” option — staying in a quarantine hotel or centralized facility for the first seven days, followed by seven days at home if testing negative upon leaving the facility — about 90 percent opted for a hotel for the first seven days, the data showed.
Asked about concerns that the “10+4” and “7+7” options might increase the risk of infection, as people might “drop in for a chat” when a person quarantines at home, Chen said that rules for such situations have been in place since last year and “dropping in for a chat” is strictly prohibited.
People who contravene the rules face a fine of NT$150,000 to NT$1 million (US$5,393 and US$35,951), he said.
Chen said that 93,845 doses of COVID-19 vaccines were administered on Monday, bringing the nation’s first-dose vaccination rate to 79.09 percent, the second-dose vaccination rate to 64.56 percent and the booster shot coverage to 0.14 percent.
Asked if the CECC plans to purchase more Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines for booster shots, Chen said that it has already signed agreements to purchase Moderna and AstraZeneca vaccines next year, and it would also negotiate with Pfizer-BioNTech to buy more of its product.
Asked about a physician’s remark that people fully vaccinated with the AstraZeneca vaccine have almost no protection against the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2, Chen said that no comments by mainstream specialists around the world have said that the protection against Omicron is so low.
However, most say that the protection might be reduced, so they recommend a booster shot, he said.
There is no need to “overinterpret” what people say, he said.
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