New Taipei City residents aged 65 or younger who contract COVID-19, but are asymptomatic or have only mild symptoms can now quarantine at home, the New Taipei City Government said yesterday, as it adopted a new Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) protocol on a trial basis.
The announcement came as the center yesterday reported 439 new domestic cases, the second-highest daily increase this year.
Given the “shockingly high” transmission rate of the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2, and that most of those infected only have mild or no symptoms, the city is asking people who meet certain conditions to quarantine at home, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) told a news conference.
Photo: CNA
CECC data showed that 99.6 percent of those infected so far this year had mild or no symptoms.
To prevent the city’s medical system from being overburdened, with the number of cases is expected to rise sharply, people aged 65 or younger, who are not pregnant and not undergoing kidney dialysis, should isolate at home, Hou said.
Seven hospitals in the city — Far Eastern Memorial Hospital, Mackay Memorial Hospital’s Tamsui (淡水) branch, Tzu Chi Hospital, Shuangho Hospital, New Taipei City Municipal Hospital, Tucheng Hospital and Fu Jen Catholic University Hospital — are to provide remote services to those in home quarantine, he said.
“Moving forward, our medical team will conduct telephone interviews with confirmed cases to determine whether to send them to hospital or centralized quarantine, or to advise them to self-isolate at home,” New Taipei City Department of Health Director Chen Jun-chiu (陳潤秋) said.
People quarantining at home for 10 days are required to install the iCare smartphone app, which connects to health-monitoring devices through Bluetooth and sends data to city hospitals, she said.
People in home quarantine must also fill out a health questionnaire three times per day and videoconference with medical staff on their mobile devices, she said, adding that if a person’s health appears to be deteriorating, they would be admitted to a hospital.
The city is also working with the New Taipei City Pharmacists’ Association to remotely prescribe medications, which would be delivered within 24 hours, she said.
Separately, Taiwan has signed a second contract with US drugmaker Pfizer to procure 350,000 courses of its COVID-19 treatment Paxlovid, which are to arrive by the end of June, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) said yesterday, after the government pledged to gradually reopen the nation’s borders.
The second contract also stipulates that Taiwan has the option to buy another 350,000 courses if necessary, said Chen, who heads the CECC.
The remaining courses of Paxlovid, which Taiwan purchased in its first contract, are to be delivered in batches in the coming two weeks, he said.
Taiwan signed a deal with Pfizer in January for 20,000 courses of Paxlovid, of which 4,800 courses have arrived.
A total of 136 courses have been used so far, Chen said.
The CECC has previously said that Paxlovid can be prescribed to treat mild-to-moderate cases of COVID-19 within five days of the onset of symptoms for adults and children aged 12 and older with a minimum weight of 40kg, if they are assessed to be at high risk of developing a severe illness.
Additional reporting by CNA and Reuters
Super Typhoon Kong-rey is the largest cyclone to impact Taiwan in 27 years, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. Kong-rey’s radius of maximum wind (RMW) — the distance between the center of a cyclone and its band of strongest winds — has expanded to 320km, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. The last time a typhoon of comparable strength with an RMW larger than 300km made landfall in Taiwan was Typhoon Herb in 1996, he said. Herb made landfall between Keelung and Suao (蘇澳) in Yilan County with an RMW of 350km, Chang said. The weather station in Alishan (阿里山) recorded 1.09m of
STORM’S PATH: Kong-Rey could be the first typhoon to make landfall in Taiwan in November since Gilda in 1967. Taitung-Green Island ferry services have been halted Tropical Storm Kong-rey is forecast to strengthen into a typhoon early today and could make landfall in Taitung County between late Thursday and early Friday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, Kong-Rey was 1,030km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), the nation’s southernmost point, and was moving west at 7kph. The tropical storm was packing maximum sustained winds of 101kph, with gusts of up to 126 kph, CWA data showed. After landing in Taitung, the eye of the storm is forecast to move into the Taiwan Strait through central Taiwan on Friday morning, the agency said. With the storm moving
NO WORK, CLASS: President William Lai urged people in the eastern, southern and northern parts of the country to be on alert, with Typhoon Kong-rey approaching Typhoon Kong-rey is expected to make landfall on Taiwan’s east coast today, with work and classes canceled nationwide. Packing gusts of nearly 300kph, the storm yesterday intensified into a typhoon and was expected to gain even more strength before hitting Taitung County, the US Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center said. The storm is forecast to cross Taiwan’s south, enter the Taiwan Strait and head toward China, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The CWA labeled the storm a “strong typhoon,” the most powerful on its scale. Up to 1.2m of rainfall was expected in mountainous areas of eastern Taiwan and destructive winds are likely
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday at 5:30pm issued a sea warning for Typhoon Kong-rey as the storm drew closer to the east coast. As of 8pm yesterday, the storm was 670km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) and traveling northwest at 12kph to 16kph. It was packing maximum sustained winds of 162kph and gusts of up to 198kph, the CWA said. A land warning might be issued this morning for the storm, which is expected to have the strongest impact on Taiwan from tonight to early Friday morning, the agency said. Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) and Green Island (綠島) canceled classes and work
RSS