The mandatory quarantine period for inbound travelers can be shortened without significantly increasing the infection risk for local communities, as the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 has a shorter incubation period than previous variants, National Taiwan University (NTU) College of Public Health professor Tony Chen (陳秀熙) said yesterday.
The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) on Monday said that it was working toward shortening the mandatory quarantine period for inbound travelers, dependent on the local COVID-19 situation remaining under control this month.
The length of the quarantine and when the policy would start needs further discussion, the CECC said.
Photo: Wu Po-hsuan, Taipei Times
In his weekly online broadcast analyzing the COVID-19 situation, Chen said that data for imported cases in Taiwan from March last year to last month indicate that the incubation period of the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 is about three to four days, but only about two days for Omicron.
If 45,000 inbound travelers — 15,000 each from “high,” “medium” and “low” infection risk areas — were to arrive in Taiwan each month, a 14-day quarantine with three polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests and a rapid test would detect all of the people who were infected before their quarantine ended, he said.
If the quarantine period were shortened to 10 days — either seven days in a government facility and three at home, or five days in each, along with two PCR tests and one rapid test — the simulations show that only two asymptomatic cases would remain undetected during quarantine, he said, adding that such cases would pose a low risk to local communities.
Moreover, most people who catch Omicron experience mild symptoms, he said, adding that a UK study showed that only about 13 percent of people with Omicron were hospitalized.
However, the immunity of about 3 million vaccinated people in Taiwan might have waned by next month, so people should get a booster dose as soon as possible and continue practicing personal protective measures to prevent another wave of local infections, he said.
As cases of people who tested negative when ordered into isolation, but tested positive later have increased since last month, it is important to clarify whether such cases arose due to people contracting COVID-19 while in a quarantine facility, he said.
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