TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — New Taipei City has started the trial operation for its “home care program,” which allows COVID-19 cases with light or no symptoms to receive medical care from home, Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) announced at a press conference Monday (April 11), touting the program as the best way to cope with the Omicron variant after opening Taiwan's borders.

Even though Omicron is highly transmissible, over 99% of people infected with the variant have light or no symptoms at all, CNA quoted the mayor as saying. The mayor then noted that it is impossible to eradicate the virus and achieve zero infections and pointed out that South Korea once reported 640,000 confirmed cases in a single day.

In order not to cripple the country’s medical capacity so that moderate and severe COVID-19 cases can be treated and deaths prevented, the “home care program” should get underway first and be well-executed, Hou said.

The central government should go ahead with the home care program across the country, and the sooner, the better, Hou said. Before opening the borders, the government should hope for the best and prepare for the worst, the mayor continued, praising the home care program as the most effective policy to tackle Omicron.

New Taipei City Department of Health Director Chen Jun-chiu (陳潤秋) said that the condition of those who are placed under home care will be monitored daily by nurses at hospitals participating in the program via smart measuring equipment and warning systems. If patients feel sick, they can receive prescriptions via telemedicine, and the treatment can be sent to their homes, Chen added, per CNA.