Taiwan’s health authorities introduced a new isolation scheme for close contacts of COVID patients on April 26. Additionally, since May 1, confirmed cases have had to identify their close contacts themselves. But for some people, that is proving impossible.
Staff at this local COVID-19 information and care center struggle to keep up with incoming phone calls.
The surging number of cases has caused serious delays for people like Ms Zhuang from New Taipei City. She had had three vaccine shots before she felt unwell last Friday. She took a PCR test which confirmed her infection the following day. On Sunday she received a call from her local health authorities, but when she called the national COVID hotline on Tuesday, she heard the case wasn’t their responsibility. She was also unable to provide the necessary information through a government app. It has been six days since she began quarantine, and her family members and coworkers have still not been notified. That could have consequences for work and insurance.
A spokesperson for New Taipei City’s Department of Health says that under new regulations, people diagnosed with COVID have to identify close contacts themselves. But the central system for doing that has not yet been connected to local structures, so New Taipei City has had to resort to using a Google form.
New Taipei City says it will issue its own forms and input data manually for its residents. But it’s still unclear what the process will look like after the central system goes online.
In principle, people with COVID will receive a text message a day after their positive test result. They will then follow an included link and identify their close contacts, who will in turn be notified to isolate.
But with cases rising rapidly, it’s uncertain if the health authorities will be able to keep up. Since the beginning of May, New Taipei City alone has seen 3,400 people who have not received text messages from the authorities, even though they should have. With many in Taiwan feeling lost and uncertain, some say it’s up to the government to provide better communication and more reliable service.
Tomasz Koper, RTI News