Says will stop reporting mild to moderate daily cases
Under the proposed changes, the ministry will monitor only severe cases, meaning patients with mild to moderate symptoms do not have to report to the health authorities during their self-initiated home quarantine.
This is a big change reported in the article.
They are going to end the mandatory isolation rule for COVID-19 patients.
Thank goodness. Not being able to go out and get fresh air while sick makes the whole situation feel worse.
sooo thatâs interesting. You can go out and about even if you know that youâre spreading the lurgy, but you (apparently) still have to wear a mask on the MRT.
Which suggests one of two things:
Saw a box of masks for less than 100 nt yesterday. There must be a serious oversupply that needs to be used.
Grabbed some normal surgical masks for 65 NTD at a local pharmacy. Unfortunately, the N95s are still expensive.
https://covid-19.nchc.org.tw/deathstatistics.php?dt_name=1&downloadall=yes
To be clear: no, you cannot. This is not current policy, itâs being âdiscussedâ:
Asked if Taiwan would follow Japanâs lead, Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (č人缼) said that among plans to be discussed after the Lunar New Year holiday is to only require physicians to report moderate and severe cases, with home isolation no longer being compulsory for mild, unreported cases.
However, Taiwan is not considering downgrading COVID-19 from being a category 5 notifiable communicable disease, he added.
Isolation regulations and treatment subsidies for reportable cases are among issues that would be discussed after the holidays, Chuang said.
Source: China arrival COVID-19 testing extended to Feb. 6 - Taipei Times
Guy
So why is it even being discussed?
In any case my point was the gross inconsistency between their (apparent) thoughts on the lurgy itself, and the structure of their ongoing policy decisions.
Physicians are going to report severe cases as a matter of routine, simply because severe cases need treatment. Suggesting that they need direction from the CECC is just an indication of how completely disconnected these clowns are from the nature of clinical practice. People with mild cases are, obviously, going to spread the disease even more effectively than serious cases (because if youâre flat on your back, you canât spread anything). So whereâs the logic in suggesting that itâs totally OK for these people to wander around - even if theyâre only âmullingâ this issue? Why do we all need to keep wearing the magic masks when - apparently - the CECC have figured out, three years too late, that COVID isnât particularly dangerous after all? And if they have figured it out, why is SARS-CoV-2 still in Category 5 (a novel pathogen of serious concern)?
None of this hangs together into a coherent whole. Policy seems utterly divorced from either science or anything resembling rational thought.
The context (which you may not be aware of) is Prime Minister Kishidaâs musings about the near complete liberalization of COVID measures in Japan later in the spring. Since Japan is planning on doing something, reporters in Taiwan want to know if Taiwan will follow, because of course they want to know this. Chuangâs replies above are his way of navigating such questions from the press.
Guy
Iâm not sure why âof courseâ Taiwanâs news reporters would want to know this, unless they think that Taiwanâs policy direction revolves either partially or entirely upon what other people are doing rather than - letâs say - rational decisionmaking. The press has pussyfooted around important questions for three years now; these pathetic non-questions have been par for the course to make it look as if theyâre giving the politicians a hard time, when the reality is that theyâre almost certainly scripted by the CECC beforehand.
In any case this has little to do with my comment above. Whether or not the CECC is merely copying Japanâs homework - and for all I know, maybe they are - their policies lack internal consistency, transparency, or any apparent logical basis.
Their only purpose in maintaining COVID as a Category 5 disease, as far as I can tell, is to keep themselves employed and embedded in the countryâs power structure. If it were downgraded, they would instantly lose access to the parts of the Communicable Disease Control Act that (in their opinion) allow them to hand out edicts to the public without any need to go through the usual tiresome processes of lawmaking.
Did you read the story? Chuang said plainly that the CECC in Taiwan is NOT planning on downscaling the categorization of COVID as Prime Minister Kishida is talking about doing.
No doubt this is all a conspiracy, even as the facts as plainly stated in the report are in direct conflict with your claims.
Guy
Yes, I read it. My point was (a) why do they even care what Kishida is doing and (b) why was COVID not downgraded months ago.
I have no idea what this even means. Where have I mentioned conspiracies? I was suggesting that the actions of the CECC are - as usual - explicable only in terms of incompetence, malice, or corruption.
Sorry I donât have time on this lovely Sunday to explain the basics of Taiwanâs history, political leanings, and cultural admiration for Japan. If this is all new to you, well you did learn something today. 
Guy
Using
as the rationale for implementing any particular âpandemic prevention measureâ doesnât sound very scientific. After all, weâre dealing with a very wily virus here. It should be: âFollow the science!â and not âFollow Japan!â
I do so hope the CECC sticks with its current management strategy of solely following the science 
Yeah, Iâve been here 25 years and do have a reasonable grasp of the facts (and I would suggest that their âcultural admirationâ is a bit more nuanced than you think). But as FairComment said, such considerations should not be a factor in deciding whether to continue flouting Constitutionally-guaranteed rights, whether to lie to the populace about medical interventions, or any of the other skulduggery that the CECC has indulged in during their little experiment with autocracy.
Hardly, but well done for trying.
Please remember Taiwan is out of the loop where it comes to international data about COVID-19. However, Japan and the US are allies of Taiwan in this regard, providing medical supplies such vaccines, special fabric for masks and protective gear production, etc.
Moreover, medical teams from these countries work closely to share policies and regularly schedule online seminars with representatives of other countries in order to exchange information unofficially.
Culturally Taiwan is very keen to follow Japan from mask esthetics to using robots to reduce contact, aside from fashion and esthetics etc. If you have to ask why it is because you were not here to witness the stampede towards Japan of Japanphile Taiwanese as soon as they were allowed to travel.
In spite of the admiration towards Japan, Taiwan has tailored itâs policies accordingly to our situation/conditions/environment and hence itâs response has been different from Japanâs. There is not such pressure on the medical system for example, as there are more beds/ICUs/negative pressure rooms available in Taiwan. And we closed the border earliest way back when, for example.
where is the end to the mask mandate? Lately I see much less people wearing face diapers. I mean I donât care much - since entering Taiwan on the 18.11 I have worn masks exactly 3 times. Twice a stupid restaurant and once on the way from Taoyuan to Taichung in the HSRâŚ
Likely again some weeks later than announced (they said once CNY is over - which is tomorrow)
Masks are still required while indoors if outside your personal home or personal car.
You must spend a lot of time at home or in a carâand/or love the outdoors. 
Guy
https://covid-19.nchc.org.tw/deathstatistics.php?dt_name=1&downloadall=yes
