Right now, Taiwan sends all people with COVID-19 into government quarantine facilities. But as case numbers rise and rooms fill up, that policy is becoming less and less sustainable. On Monday, New Taipei City began testing a system that allows COVID patients to isolate themselves at home.
An elaborate flowchart shows how New Taipei City will go about handling mild COVID-19 cases. The idea here is that people with mild COVID-19 symptoms will be allowed to ride out the duration of their infection at home. First, hospitals will evaluate which COVID cases could quarantine at home. Then, health department officials will reach out to the selected people and set up apps that can monitor their conditions remotely. Each person in home quarantine will receive a care package containing food and other everyday goods.
Hospitals will be responsible for checking in with patients and making sure they are in good condition. Through the app, they can stay up to date with each patient’s needs and assess what kind of follow-up treatment they need, if they need it at all.
A hospital in New Taipei City started testing this model on Monday. New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi attended a press conference where he spoke to a person in home quarantine remotely.
Hou says his city is ready to roll out the home quarantine program. He’s waiting for the go-ahead from the central government. New Taipei City has seen the most COVID-19 cases over the past week, so there’s an immediate need for home quarantine there. And as Taiwan’s most populous city, New Taipei knows it has a lot of people to protect. The city’s home quarantine scheme aims to give COVID patients the care they need without putting strain on resources.