CECC updates guidelines for COVID-19 diagnosis

Wed, May 18, 2022 page2

CECC updates guidelines for COVID-19 diagnosis

ONLINE REPORT: Confirmed cases filling out the online contact tracing report can check a box to indicate that a close contact had received a booster dose, an official said
- By Lee I-chia / Staff reporter
The guidelines for diagnosing COVID-19 have been revised to include people aged 65 or older who test positive with a rapid test that is confirmed by a healthcare worker, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday, as it reported 65,794 new local infections.
The CECC had first announced the change on Monday, before publishing the new guidelines.
Starting today, people aged 65 or older, regardless of whether they are undergoing home quarantine, home isolation or self-disease prevention, can be classified as a confirmed COVID-19 case by a healthcare professional, based on a positive result from an antigen rapid test, said Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center.

Cars line up at a drive-in COVID-19 rapid testing center outside the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei yesterday.

Photo: CNA

People in the age group can take the positive test cassette to a healthcare facility for a doctor to confirm the result, he said.
If they are undergoing home quarantine, home isolation or self-disease prevention, they can see a doctor through a telemedicine consultation or have someone else take the cassette to a doctor for assessment, he added.

Once the doctor confirms the positive result, they can report the patient as a confirmed case, and the local health department would carry on with the triage process and inform the patient to isolate at home or arrange other facilities, Chen said.

People line up at a COVID-19 fever-screening station outside Kaohsiung Municipal Min-Sheng Hospital yesterday to take a polymerase chain reaction test.

Photo: CNA

The CECC on Monday announced that close contacts of a confirmed case who have received a booster shot of a COVID-19 vaccine can be exempted from the “3+4” policy — three days of home isolation and four days of self-disease prevention — and instead follow the “0+7” policy, which means just seven days of self-disease prevention.
Chen yesterday said junior-high and high-school students who have received a booster dose can also follow the “0+7” policy if they are identified as a close contact.
Centers for Disease Control (CDC) physician Chen Wan-ching (陳婉青) said a check box has been added to the column for each close contact in the online contact tracing self-reporting system, allowing the confirmed case to select whether the close contact has received a booster shot.
Ticking the check box means the close contact has received a booster shot, in which case they would not receive a home isolation notification, she said.
The CECC late on Monday said in a statement that close contacts who have received a booster shot can still follow the “3+4” policy if they wish.
Confirmed cases can edit the online contact tracing report only once within 24 hours after submitting the form, so they should make sure the information is correct before submitting it, the CECC said.
Asked if confirmed cases who have been released from isolation would be subject to the “3+4” or the “0+7” policy, Chen Wan-ching said confirmed cases who have recovered would not be identified as a close contact in the three months following infection, as their risk of reinfection is extremely low.
Meanwhile, CDC Director-General Chou Jih-haw (周志浩), head of the CECC’s disease surveillance division, said 65,794 local COVID-19 infections, 39 imported cases and 38 deaths were confirmed yesterday.
As of Monday, 368 severe cases, including 282 deaths, have been reported this year, accounting for 0.05 percent of the total 803,337 local cases this year, he said.
Of the 38 deaths, 17 were aged 80 or older, and only one had no underlying health conditions, the CECC said, adding that 18 were unvaccinated and 24 had not received a booster shot.
Comments will be moderated. Keep comments relevant to the article. Remarks containing abusive and obscene language, personal attacks of any kind or promotion will be removed and the user banned. Final decision will be at the discretion of the Taipei Times.
Most Popular