CECC May Ease Border Restrictions in March 3月中擬鬆綁邊境 縮短檢疫.開放商務客入境

The Central Epidemic Command Center says it's considering relaxing border restrictions in phases: Busienss travelers would be allowed entry and subject to shorter quarantine period starting in mid-March, while quarantine would be waived for travlers that meet certain criteria in April. Some predict Taiwan should be able to completely end its border control by the end of this year.

Taiwan saw three new domestic COVID-19 cases of unknown origin on Feb. 14, all of which were reported in Kaohsiung. There are currently 11 active transmission chains of unknown origin. Some experts say the Omicron variant is characterized by being highly transmissible with a short incubation period, and these individual cases are only the tip of the iceberg. There may be even more invisible transmission chains that are active in communities. Luckily, the majority of the cases appear to be mild.

Huang Li-min, Honorary Chair, Infectious Diseases Society of Taiwan: “Taiwan appears to have numerous invisible transmission chains at the moment. However, as the majority are mild cases, so people might not know they're infected. People only find out when they are forced to take a test, such as if they want to get medical treatment or travel abroad.”

The domestic situation appears to be stabilizing and controllable in the post-holiday period. The Central Epidemic Command Center said if the booster coverage rate reaches 50 percent, then border restrictions can be relaxed, including reducing the quarantine length and allowing business travelers to enter. It hopes the criteria can be reached by mid-March. Scholars say they agree, and also propose further relaxing restrictions in April to waive quarantine for inbound travelers that meet certain conditions.

Tony Chen, Professor, College of Public Health, NTU: “If people have received three vaccine doses and they remain in the protective period, then I believe we can consider waiving the quarantine requirement. In other words, we can end the lockdown.”

Experts say a zero COVID-19 strategy is unattainable, and it's possible that the disease could become milder or like the flu. The current objectives should be zero severe cases and actively handling any outbreaks. Countries are reopening their borders, and Taiwan needs to move in the same direction. If the vaccination coverage rate is high enough and there is a sufficient quantity of antivirals, then Taiwan should be able to completely end its lockdown and allow life to return to normal.

 

新冠本土疫情、14日又新增3例感染源不明個案，都在高雄，累計目前國內共有11條感染源不明傳播鏈。對此有感染科專家表示，Omicron特性是傳播力強，潛伏期短，這些確診個案只是冰山一角，國內社區恐怕有更多隱形傳播鏈，所幸應該大多為輕症。

台灣感染症醫學會名譽理事長黃立民指出:「台灣現在隱形傳染鏈應該不少啦，可是因為大部分是輕症，所以暫時你也不會浮現，那他會浮現就是他被逼著要做檢查，比如說他要去醫院看診，或者是他要出國。」

農曆春節過後，本土疫情趨於穩定、可控，疫情指揮中心表示，如果民眾第三劑疫苗涵蓋率達5成，打算鬆綁邊境管制措施，包括放寬檢疫天數、開放商務客來台等，希望三月中旬前可達標。有公衛學者表示認同，並進一步建議，今年4月可試辦第二階段，有條件讓入境者，完全免除隔離檢疫。

台大公衛學院教授陳秀熙指出:「如果他打了3劑疫苗的情況之下，然後又在時效裡面，這個我覺得我們就可以採取，所謂的這個不需要隔離跟檢疫，也就是說來解封。」

專家學者都指出，新冠病毒不可能清零，且很可能輕症或流感化，現階段目標在於重症清零及動態清零。隨著各國邊境逐漸解封，台灣也會朝解封方向，若民眾疫苗涵蓋率夠高，並有足夠的抗病毒藥物，今年底應該有機會完全解封，讓生活恢復正常。