CORONAVIRUS/COVID-19 home care consultations to focus on high-risk groups: CECC

Taipei, Jan. 12 (CNA) The current remote medical consultation services provided to all COVID-19 patients during home quarantine are to be restricted to high-risk groups only, so as to more effectively allocate the country's health resources, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said Thursday.

Effective from Jan. 15, only individuals aged 65 or above and 12 or below with severe underlying health issues will be able to use the service during their five-day mandatory quarantine, according to Lo Yi-chun (羅一鈞), deputy head of the CECC's medical response division.

Those individuals will be able to consult their doctors and receive regular health evaluations remotely during the period, Lo said in a daily case briefing.

Other existing home care measures for patients with mild and asymptomatic COVID-19 infections remain unchanged -- including remote prescription of medicines and their home delivery -- he said.

At present, Taiwan's hospital bed vacancy for COVID-19 patients is 53.5. percent, according to CECC statistics.