Hospitals and long-term care facilities may reopen to visitors, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday.
The move would mainly affect facilities in Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung, Taoyuan, Kaohsiung and Hualien County that on April 22 banned visitors due to COVID-19 concerns.
However, some visitors would be required to provide proof of a negative rapid COVID-19 test taken on the same day or a self-paid laboratory test, said Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the CECC.
Photo provided by the CECC
Exemptions from the rule are visitors who have received three doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, with the third dose received more than 14 days before, and people who have recovered from the disease after testing positive between 15 days and three months before, Chen said.
Two people at a time can visit patients in hospitals and long-term care facilities, he said.
However, if the patient is a child, an older person, has mental or physical disabilities, or is incapable of caring for themself, three visitors would be allowed, he said.
Taiwan yesterday reported 45,678 new local COVID-19 cases and 152 deaths from the disease, the CECC said.
The deceased were aged from their teens to their 90s. Among them were 138 people who had chronic illnesses or other severe diseases, and 79 who were unvaccinated against COVID-19, the center said.
Two of them were younger than 20 years, including a 12-year-old boy, who had a neuromuscular disorder, said Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞), deputy head of the CECC’s medical response division.
The boy on Tuesday developed symptoms while at school, including difficulty breathing and an accelerated heartbeat, Lo said.
He was rushed to hospital after he lost consciousness, Lo added.
On arrival at the emergency room, the boy had no vital signs, and he could not be resuscitated, Lo said, adding that a post-mortem COVID-19 test showed that he had the disease.
CECC data showed that the boy was unvaccinated against COVID-19.
As of yesterday, 20 children under the age of 13 had died in Taiwan after contracting COVID-19, Lo said.
The second-youngest person who died was a 19-year-old man, who had asthma, Lo said, adding that he had received two vaccine doses.
The teenager in May developed symptoms including fatigue and muscle pain, and he later also began experiencing breathing difficulties when walking, Lo said.
He on June 5 tested positive in an emergency room, Lo said, adding that he also tested positive for hepatitis and had muscle inflammation.
On Saturday last week, the man went into shock and lost consciousness, Lo said, adding that he died two days later in an intensive care unit, where he received extracorporeal life support.
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