COVID-19 patients in home quarantine and COVID-19 contacts isolating at home will be allowed to go to the hospital themselves if they require emergency medical assistance, instead of having to wait for approval from the local health authority, effective immediately, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said Wednesday.
The guidelines apply to three groups: COVID-19 patients who are asymptomatic or have only mild symptoms and have been approved to quarantine at home, individuals in isolation due to close contact with a COVID-19 patient, and new arrivals in Taiwan who are all required to quarantine, the CECC said.
In the event anyone in these groups requires medical assistance while in quarantine, they can call the local health department, which will arrange for them to go to a hospital via a designated taxi or agree to them going to the hospital themselves.
Individuals can make their own way to the hospital on foot, drive, or have someone living with them drive them, the CECC said.
In the event of an emergency, in addition to calling the local health department, individuals can call 119 and wait for an ambulance or head to a hospital directly.
Previously, those in quarantine had to wait for local health departments to arrange for them to go to the hospital if they needed medical treatment.
The new guidelines come after the death of a two-year-old boy from COVID-19 on Tuesday. The boy's parents have been highly critical of the initial response of the health authority when their son's condition deteriorated and they were trying to get him to a hospital.
Different guidelines for children to be released
However, the guidelines released Wednesday apply only to adults. The CECC will announce a different set of guidelines for children after discussing the issue with pediatricians, according to Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (???).
Speaking at the daily CECC press briefing, Chen said that they advise people to contact the local health authority before going to a hospital because individuals in quarantine are monitored by the "digital fence system," which uses cell phone signals to determine whether they have left their quarantine location.
If the health authority is informed beforehand it can remove individuals going to the hospital from the monitoring system, which will save police officers from making a trip to their homes to check on them, Chen said.
However, if individuals do not have time to inform the health authority before going to the hospital, they will not be fined, Chen said.
When asked what symptoms COVID-19 patients should look out for, Lo Yi-chun (???), deputy head of the CECC's medical response division, said patients should seek medical assistance if they develop a range of symptoms.
These include shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, sustained chest pain, chest tightness, loss of consciousness, a significant decrease in urine output, a heart rate of 100 beats per minute when one does not have a fever, or if one's skin, lips, or nail beds turn purple, Lo said.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel