TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Seven groups of people including patients and staff at hospitals will no longer have to undergo COVID-19 rapid tests under certain conditions, reports said Tuesday (June 7).
The original requirement to take a COVID test when entering a hospital or regular tests afterward will no longer be necessary for people who ended their quarantine after an infection if they fell ill or tested positive 15 days to three months prior and proved to be an asymptomatic case, according to the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC).
The new measure covers hospitalized patients, relatives or friends who accompanied them, visitors, hospital care staff, staff who administer COVID tests, patients who have been asked to stay for observation lasting more than 24 hours after visiting the emergency ward, and those who accompany them to the hospital, CNA reported.
It was up to each hospital to decide when to introduce the new measure, and local government health departments were informed Monday (June 6), according to the CECC.
Taiwan’s recent COVID surge reached a peak of almost 95,000 local infections per day in late May. The single-day total has since varied between 50,000 and more than 90,000. The number of deaths confirmed by the CECC reached a record number of 152 last Saturday (June 4).
