The command center announced: "Quick screening at home" meets the case conditions. Doctors call for "3 points" to improve the chaos of rapid screening.
The Epidemic Command Center announced that “positive persons” in the new home rapid screening system meet the case conditions
In view of the rapid escalation of the local epidemic, the Epidemic Command Center announced on May 5 that it would revise the definition of new coronavirus pneumonia cases, indicating that those who are in home isolation or self-prevention when using household rapid screening reagents during home quarantine if they test as " “Positive” and confirmed by medical staff meet the “case conditions”, and will be implemented from May 12.
The command center also stated that during the “3+4” period (3 days of home quarantine and 4 days of self-isolation), if the results of the rapid screening test are positive for those who are quarantined at home, they should stay at home and not go out, and should further go through " “Remote outpatient medical care” (you can use the “Healthy Friends” APP or contact the nearby health bureau/health center to arrange), and doctors will assist in evaluating the positive results of rapid screening. If the case reaches a consensus with the doctor, it will be reported to the medical institution to which the doctor belongs, and the diagnosis will be automatically determined through the system.
The command center further explained that confirmed cases will be arranged for isolation or isolation treatment in home care or other designated places by the health bureau of the local government in accordance with the principle of diversion and treatment of confirmed cases. In addition, if the public or assessing doctors do not agree on or have doubts about the positive results of rapid screening, they can still notify the Health Bureau to arrange PCR testing.
The command center calls on people who are self-isolating and self-preventing the epidemic or during home quarantine if they self-test positive, they should seek remote outpatient medical treatment and ask video diagnosis and treatment doctors to assist in assessment, confirmation and notification, so as to facilitate the local health bureau to arrange home care as soon as possible. , and the medical team will evaluate and provide necessary medical services or treatment drugs.
Taiwan’s PCR capacity is obviously insufficient for doctors: 3 points are expected to improve the chaos of rapid screening
The command center also mentioned in the press release that the modification of the case definition is actually necessary to maintain Taiwan’s case surveillance and epidemic prevention and testing capacity. Recently, major pharmacies are lined up with people waiting to receive rapid screening reagents, and there are also many people waiting for PCR tests in hospital emergency rooms. In addition to keeping medical staff busy, this phenomenon is also likely to cause the chain of transmission to continue to expand.
In response to the above situation, Dr. Jiang Guanyu, the attending physician of the Department of General Internal Medicine at the Taipei City Hospital Zhongxing Branch, posted on social media that only by continuing to reduce unnecessary isolation measures and lowering the level of notifiable infectious diseases of COVID-19, it makes sense to replace PCR with rapid screening , it is even expected to solve the chaos of endless or delayed issuance of artificial residence orders.
And how to evaluate reducing unnecessary isolation and quarantine? Dr. Jiang Guanyu pointed out that unless the following three measures are implemented, many problems caused by home rapid screening will continue:
Correctly estimate the incubation period and overall course of the virus.
The coverage rate of the three-dose vaccine reaches a higher threshold, with an ideal coverage rate of over 60-70%.
There is enough cumulative infected population and coverage to become a strong enough “mixed immune” community.
Dr. Jiang Guanyu said that if the above three points can be achieved, there is no need to worry too much if variant viruses such as BA.4 and BA.5 enter the country. Importantly, reserving resources for high-risk groups and reducing PCR load are the primary goals in Taiwan’s epidemic prevention operations.
“The current epidemic prevention measures are very critical, and they are related to whether we can evolve from a ‘flower in the greenhouse’ to a ‘virus-resistant’ king flower.” Dr. Jiang Guanyu said.
Source:
Dr. Jiang Guanyu - 3 measures to eliminate chaos in rapid screening
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