Virologist urges Taiwanese government to shorten quarantine to 3-5 days

病毒學家敦促台灣政府將隔離期縮短至3-5天

COVID-19 likely to exist forever: Chang Gung University researcher


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — With Taiwan on course to shorten its quarantine to 10 days, a virologist on Monday (Feb. 28) urged the government to further cut the mandatory period to three to five days, citing Omicron's shorter incubation period.

The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) recently announced that beginning March 7, the number of days those entering Taiwan will be required to quarantine will be shortened from 14 to 10. The CECC also announced that businesspeople will be allowed to apply for special permits to enter the country.

Shih Shin-ru (施信如), director of Chang Gung University’s Research Center for Emerging Viral Infections, said reducing the quarantine is very reasonable considering that the incubation period for the dominant Omicron variant is shorter than those of other COVID-19 strains, CNA reported.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), it may take only three days for symptoms of an Omicron infection to appear.

Some worry a shortened quarantine could allow COVID-19 to get out of control in the country, but Shih disagrees. She argued it is likely to increase people’s willingness to get tested, thus making it easier to control outbreaks, per CNA.

With testing, therapies, and quarantine measures becoming more sophisticated, the mandatory quarantine should be shortened to five — or even three — days, Shih said.

“The virus is very likely to exist forever,” the virologist said, adding that even if it eventually vanishes, this would take several years or more. Though COVID-19 is now better understood, it is still possible a new variant will pop up in the future to add uncertainty, she said, citing the genetic mutations swine flu (H1N1) has undergone since the 2009 pandemic.