Reduced Quarantine Trial

Yup. It’s not far off the barriers thrown up around the nearby jogging track, while the unventilated offices remain open: stopping things they can stop, without paying much attention to where actions can be most effective.

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One of the 7 high-risk countries is Israel, which has one of the highest fully vaxxed rates in the world.

Apparently as many as half the cases are in vaxxed people, but the vast majority of severe cases are in unvaxxed people. The Delta variant is apparently responsible for this, as it’s now accounting for 70% of all cases.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-to-reinstate-indoor-mask-mandate-next-week-as-covid-19-cases-keep-rising/

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Quoting @lostinasia because he is damn right and as an introduction to the benefits (or otherwise) of implementing draconian laws when the problem is elsewhere.

Mandatory quarantine for everyone in government facilities or hotels is a waste of taxpayers’ money, if we consider that since Taiwan closed its borders in March 2020 the few important outbreaks that happened, including the current one, were not caused by “normal” people quarantining at home.

So, the question (to myself) is: if home quarantine for overseas arrivals worked round-the-clock when the outside world was in much direr conditions than the recent months, what is the reason of becoming stricter now, especially with fully vaccinated people? Reduced quarantine for pilots was the issue, not regular quarantine for the others.

Just a rant, though :unamused: and the unwillingness to be locked in a quarantine facility after two jabs.

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That would be a game changer if the Delta variant is much more transmissible by vaccinated people. Did a quick search of credible sources and could not find that issue raised outside that “business insider” article you linked too. e.g. in recent Nature, New York time, National Geographic, New Yorker etc.
Have you seen it elsewhere?

I guess its just a matter of degree though. With AZ efficacy against delta at 60%, there are going to be some travelers with delta virus loads in their systems arriving at CKS airport.

I did find some other countries, eg. Italy, putting a quarantine on vaccinated travelers from UK due to delta variant risk - though only 5 days there.

It’s theater. The government is covering its ass and making it look like it’s taking strong action to protect the country. That’s especially important since it got caught with its pants down on 3+11 and the vaccines.

TBH, I think many/most Taiwanese will be happy about this change. Anecdotally, I’ve heard more than a few people express a desire for the border to basically be closed altogether since the beginning of the pandemic.

If the quarantine facilities get overwhelmed, I actually wouldn’t be surprised if TW pulled an Australia and made it even more difficult for people to leave and come back.

This really isn’t surprising. We already know that the vaccines don’t provide full sterilizing immunity so breakthrough infections are possible. The primary goal of the vaccines is to reduce the risk of severe illness and death. The people who are getting really sick and dying are still the unvaxxed.

COVID will become endemic and eventually in the vaxxed it will probably be no more a threat than a cold. Do we panic and test people for rhinoviruses? Of course not. The problem right now for countries like TW is that the vax rates aren’t high enough so if this gets in and spreads, it can get really ugly.

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