The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) is considering loosening the “3+4” isolation rule for individuals who live in the same household with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 if they have received a third vaccine dose.
Currently, individuals have to follow a “3+4” isolation plan if a person they live with tests positive, which involves three days of quarantine followed by four days during which they have to test negative using a rapid test each day before leaving their home.
This policy could soon change, the CECC said Sunday.
The CECC discussed the issue with experts and local government officials in meetings on Saturday and Sunday, and came to a consensus that the “3+4” protocol should be loosened for individuals who have already gotten three COVID-19 vaccine shots, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) said.
The CECC are considering two options, with the first enabling individuals to no longer need to isolate, but instead undergo seven days where they have to take a rapid antigen test every day and get a negative result before leaving their homes.
The second option is an even more relaxed “self-health management” protocol, which does not require any testing or negative results at all.
Under both options, individuals would still be barred from attending large gatherings and group meals during the seven-day period.
The CECC is still deciding which option to select and will make an announcement when a decision is made, Chen said.
Another issue discussed during the meetings was the prescription of antiviral medications Paxlovid and molnupiravir to COVID-19 patients, Chen said.
Currently, most people can only be prescribed the drugs after they test positive on a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test, or if they fall under either of the two categories of people that can be counted as a COVID-19 case with only a positive rapid test result and a doctor’s confirmation of the result.
The one exception to this rule are individuals who live in nursing homes and are able to receive medication once they get a positive rapid test result.
A consensus was reached during the meeting to allow all seniors aged 65 years old or over to be able to be prescribed the antiviral drugs by doctors if they have a rapid test, to prevent their condition from deteriorating, Chen said.
The CECC will announce how seniors would be able to obtain their medication after deciding on the relevant protocols, Chen said.
Also on Sunday, CECC official Lo Yi-chun (羅一鈞) said that a policy that took effect on May 12, which allowed two groups of people who receive a positive result from a COVID-19 rapid test to be counted as a confirmed case without having to undergo a PCR test, would also now apply to children under the age of two.
The two groups are people following the “3+4” isolation protocol, and travelers undergoing quarantine after arriving in Taiwan.
Although at-home rapid tests have not been approved for use in children under two years old, the CECC has consulted with experts and decided that if such a test is used on a child who falls into either of the aforementioned two groups and comes back positive, the child can be counted as a COVID-19 case after a doctor confirms the test result, Lo said.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel