#16,701
Taiwan - which has done a remarkable job (see chart above) over the past 2 years keeping COVID at bay without resorting to overly-strict lockdowns - has seen local daily cases soar over the past 7 days, reaching new heights almost every day.
Seven days ago they reported 551 local cases, while in their latest 24-hour report that number has risen to 1,626 cases; an increase of 295% in one week.
As we've seen in South Korea, Hong Kong, and now Mainland China, COVID prevention strategies that worked well against earlier variants of the virus are finding the more transmissible Omicron virus much harder to control.
For Taiwan - used to seeing daily cases counts in the single or double digits - their focus must now shift from strict prevention and control, to reducing the impact of the epidemic. A sign of this new acceptance can be found in the headline in yesterday's Taiwan News.
'Meaningless’: Taiwan's health minister, scholars agree on futility of reporting COVID case numbers
Another sign of this shift comes from the announcement today from their CDC, relaxing some of the testing requirements for those exiting isolation or quarantine.
CECC adjusts testing measures for individuals under home isolation/quarantine to effectively manage mild cases
PublishTime：2022-04-19
On April 19, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) announced that effective from 00:00 on April 20, 2022, testing rules for individuals identified as close contacts of confirmed cases and placed under home isolation and people who arrive in Taiwan on or after the specified time and are placed under home quarantine will be revised. Adjusted rules are listed below.
A. Individuals under home isolation: one rapid test or PCR test will be arranged once they are identified as contacts after contact tracing; a PCR test will be arranged for confirmation if they test positive in their rapid test. The four rapid tests previously required respectively on the fifth through seventh day of the isolation period, on the last day of the isolation period (the 10th day), and on the second and fourth days of the self-health management will be replaced by a rapid test on the last day of the isolation period. One additional rapid test kit will be provided and can be used if symptoms appear.
A. Individuals under home quarantine: the five rapid tests previously required respectively on the three through fifth day of the quarantine period, on the last day of the quarantine period (the 10th day), and on the second and fourth days of the self-health management will be replaced by a rapid test on the last day of the quarantine period. One additional rapid test kit will be provided and can be used if symptoms appear.
The CECC pointed out that in consideration of the age limit on who can use at-home rapid test kits, children under two years of age who are under home isolation/quarantine should undergo a PCR test. People who have difficulty using at-home rapid test kits on their own will receive rapid tests arranged and performed by local governments.
More than two years into this pandemic we are seeing a wide range of responses to Omicron; ranging from draconian lockdowns of millions of people in China - to a practically laissez-faire approach taken by the UK - with most other countries (including Taiwan) falling somewhere in between.
Exactly what the optimum approach should be at this point of the pandemic is unknown. Admittedly it may take years to figure out which approach worked best, and it is likely there is no such thing as a one-policy-fits-all for a pandemic.
But hopefully we'll learn enough from these disparate approaches to be better equipped to deal with the next pandemic threat to come down the pike.
