People in Taiwan with mild COVID-19 infections will no longer have to quarantine, with effect from March 20, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said Thursday, rolling back a policy that has been in place for more than three years.
Mandatory quarantine for people with COVID-19 has been in effect in Taiwan since Jan. 15, 2020, when COVID was designated as a category 3 communicable disease.
At a press briefing on Thursday, the CECC said that as the COVID-19 situation in Taiwan has been easing, the reporting of mild or asymptomatic infections, as well as the current mandatory five-day quarantine for infected individuals, will be phased out from March 20.
When the new regulations take effect, people who obtain a positive rapid test will no longer have to confirm their results via a telemedicine appointment, and instead, they will simply be asked to monitor their health for a period of 10 days, CECC spokesman Lo Yi-chun (???) said.
People with symptomatic COVID-19 infections will be encouraged — but not required — to stay at home until their symptoms ease or to wear a mask at all times if they do go out, Lo said.
Despite the policy change, the Ministry of Education said Thursday that it will continue to advise students and teachers not to attend classes in person for five days after testing positive for COVID-19.
In terms of reporting, Lo said that only moderate to severe COVID-19 cases — defined as those that require hospitalization — will be reported to the government, after March 20.
Also from that date, the current rules that require the special handling and expedited cremation of deceased COVID-19 patients will also be lifted, the CECC said.
COVID-19 cases in Taiwan have been dropping steadily over the past five weeks and currently average around 10,600 per day, according to CECC data.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel