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進入《TAIPEI TIMES》 Seven-day isolation could be cut
People walk through the grounds of the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei on Oct. 9. Photo: Chiang Ying-ying, AP
LOCAL ELECTIONS: ‘Bubbles’ used for business visitors could be applied for the Nov. 26 vote, a former CDC official said, although the CECC said that plan might not be practical
By Lee I-chia / Staff reporter
The Central Epidemic Command Center’s （CECC） specialist panel is scheduled to meet this week to discuss shortening the isolation time for confirmed COVID-19 cases, partly in response to concerns about voting rights in next month’s local elections, Minister of Health and Welfare Hsueh Jui-yuan （薛瑞元） said yesterday.
People who test positive for COVID-19 and isolating for the mandatory seven days during the Nov. 26 elections will not be allowed in polling stations.
The Chinese-language Liberty Times （sister paper of the Taipei Times） on Friday reported that former Centers for Disease Control （CDC） deputy director Shih Wen-yi （施文儀） suggested allowing people who are under isolation to vote under a “bubble” mechanism.
He said there have been “business bubbles” and “diplomatic bubbles” for foreign visitors exempted from the mandatory quarantine, and that people who are under quarantine or isolation are also allowed to leave home under special circumstances, such as during an earthquake or fire.
The rates of severe illness and fatality from COVID-19 are much lower than when the virus was first discovered, so the CECC should allow confirmed cases to vote with certain measures in place, such as a requirement to wear an N95 respirator or wearing two masks, and limit transportation methods and time allowed in a polling station, he said.
Hsueh yesterday said that Shih’s plan would be complicated by polling stations that operate differently from one another.
However, CECC specialists are to convene a panel this week to discuss whether the isolation time for confirmed cases should be shortened, he said.
The CECC yesterday reported 31,500 new local cases, 218 of which were moderate to severe, along with 76 deaths.
CDC Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang （莊人祥）, who is the CECC’s spokesman, said the number of new local cases from Sunday last week to Saturday was about 10 percent lower than the previous week
Weekly caseloads have dropped for three consecutive weeks, indicating that the spread of the Omicron BA.5 variant of SARS-CoV-2 has likely plateaued, he added.
Additional reporting by CNA
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
