
Taipei, May 4 (CNA) Taiwan's Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) on Wednesday tightened its hospital admission guidelines for COVID-19 patients with mild or no symptoms, as the number of confirmed cases in the country continued to climb.
Update: CECC further tightens COVID-19 hospital admissions policy (May 17)
The revised policy, which replaces guidelines set on April 21, raises from 75 to 80 the age at which COVID-19 patients with mild or no symptoms are admitted to hospital and also cancels a rule requiring hospital admission for COVID-19 patients undergoing dialysis.
The changes are intended to preserve health care capacity and ensure that doctors can quickly provide care to those who need it most, Health Minister Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) said at the CECC's daily press briefing, after reporting a new single-day high of 28,487 COVID-19 cases.
Revised guidelines
Under the new guidelines, patients in the following groups will be admitted to the hospital: individuals classified as having moderate or severe cases of COVID-19, aged 80 or above, those 36 weeks pregnant or over, infants under 3 months old who have a fever, and infants 3-12 months old with a fever of over 39 degrees Celsius.
Meanwhile, government-run quarantine centers and designated hotels will house patients who have mild symptoms or are asymptomatic, and who also fall into one of four categories.
These categories are: individuals aged 70-79, aged 65-69 and living alone, under 36 weeks pregnant, or whose residence does not meet the condition for home quarantine.
In terms of exceptions, the guidelines state that mild and asymptomatic patients who do not meet the conditions for home quarantine may nevertheless choose to quarantine at home with approval from a doctor.
Dialysis patients - who were previously admitted to hospitals regardless of their symptoms - may now also quarantine at home if they have mild or no symptoms, and coordinate with their local health departments to arrange dialysis treatment, according to the guidelines.
All other patients who have mild or no symptoms will quarantine at home, the guidelines state.

At the press briefing, Chen said that in principle, COVID-19 patients with mild or no symptoms who are admitted to hospital should stay for a maximum of five days, at which point they can be discharged or allowed to return to their quarantine location.
As of Wednesday, 43.7 percent of the 8,579 beds in COVID-19 hospital isolation wards are in use, while 64.15 percent of the total 11,332 spaces in government quarantine centers or designated hotels are occupied, CECC statistics show.
Update (May 7)
●Quarantine cut to 7 days for mild, asymptomatic COVID-19 cases: CECC
●Taiwan rolls back quarantine rules for contacts of COVID-19 patients
- COVID-19 death rate exceeding 0.1 percent a warning: health ministerHealth Minister Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) said Thursday that the COVID-19 death rate in Taiwan exceed 0.1 percent over the past two days, a figure he characterized as a warning.05/26/2022 11:36 PM
- Self-health management rule for migrant workers to be relaxed from FridayEffective from Friday, migrant workers arriving in Taiwan will no longer have to observe the seven-day self-health management protocol that follows mandatory quarantine, the ...05/26/2022 11:33 PM
- Taiwan COVID-19 News Briefs: May 26Taiwan on Thursday reported 81,907 new COVID-19 cases, down slightly from the day before, and 104 deaths from the disease, according to the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC).05/26/2022 09:27 PM
- Politics
China's provocation against Taiwan 'deeply destabilizing:' Blinken
05/27/2022 12:42 AM - Culture
France selected as theme country at Taipei book fair for the fourth time
05/27/2022 12:26 AM - Society
COVID-19 death rate exceeding 0.1 percent a warning: health minister
05/26/2022 11:36 PM - Society
Self-health management rule for migrant workers to be relaxed from Friday
05/26/2022 11:33 PM - Society
Taiwan freedivers compete under 'Taiwan' at Caribbean Cup after protesting
05/26/2022 10:09 PM