Taiwan will trial home isolation for people with mild cases of COVID-19. Health Minister Chen Shih-chung says authorities will finalize the plan next week and then ask local authorities to implement it.
New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi has already said he is interested in trying out the scheme.
Right now, people with mild COVID symptoms have to be isolated in hospitals or government quarantine facilities.
But Chen says Taiwan only has enough rooms to accommodate around 1,500 new cases a day, and he thinks Taiwan could soon pass that figure. That’s why he says the government is considering allowing home isolation.
Several details still need to be decided, like how to define a mild case of COVID, and what kinds of living arrangements are allowed. Chen also says health officials are working out how to support people with COVID while they are isolating.