Taipei and New Taipei to place all confirmed COVID cases in quarantine centers

台北和新北將所有新冠病毒確診患者安置在隔離中心

People with COVID elsewhere in Taiwan may remain home if under 60 years old and without chronic illness

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said on Sunday (May 30) that all people who test positive for COVID-19 in Taipei and New Taipei will have to move to centralized quarantine centers on the day of their diagnosis, CNA reported.

Due to rising COVID cases in the twin cities, many people with the disease have stayed at home while waiting for placement in a facility. However, the capacity of quarantine centers has now been expanded, the report said.

While people under 60 years old and without chronic conditions are to remain home in other parts of the country, the new rule in Taipei and New Taipei goes further and requires all COVID-positive individuals to leave their domiciles.

CNA quoted Wang Pi-sheng (王必勝), deputy head of the CECC's medical response division, as saying during Sunday’s briefing that during this wave of COVID infections, the enhanced quarantine centers across the country have taken in 1,979 cases, including 1,184 in New Taipei, 593 in Taipei, and 202 in other regions.

A total of 2,000 rooms in quarantine centers were still available as of Sunday, most of which were located in central and southern Taiwan. About 1,100 more rooms will be added in the next three days, the CECC official said.

Wang said that under cooperation between the central and local governments, COVID-positive patients with mild or no symptoms have been gradually moved to quarantine centers to avoid household transmission. The process of moving all people with a positive PCR test result in Taipei and New Taipei to quarantine centers should be completed on Sunday, the official added.

CECC head Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) said quarantine centers are a buffer between communities and hospitals, where local governments can send patients whom they are unable to place. He praised the two northern cities for their success in setting up enhanced quarantine centers quickly.