Visits to residents of care homes and patients in medical facilities have been restricted in six high-risk COVID-19 areas due to the rapid spread of the disease, the health and welfare minister said yesterday Chen Shih-chung (陳時中).
The restrictions were introduced in Keelung, Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Kaohsiung and Hualien County, with immediate effect, to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in hospitals and nursing homes, Chen said during the briefing. downtown daily in Taipei.
The six areas have been designated as high-risk areas for COVID-19 because they have recorded more new national COVID-19 cases than other areas since the beginning of this month, when the number of single-day cases increased. exceeded 100 for the first time this year, said Chen, who heads the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC).
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
Under the new restrictions, general visits are prohibited in high-risk areas except in special situations, including when a visit is deemed necessary by medical facilities or nursing homes, he said.
Exceptions include when a parent’s presence is required for someone undergoing surgery, an invasive test or treatment, or when a parent is needed to sign legal documents related to a medical procedure, he said. declared.
Visits may also be permitted when a patient is being treated in an emergency room, or an intensive care or palliative care unit, situations in which discussions with family members are considered essential, it said. -he declares.
It will be up to each hospital to decide whether such visits should be allowed, Chen said, adding that exceptions for visits to nursing homes would be determined by those facilities.
Although people are still allowed to visit hospital patients and nursing home residents in cities and counties outside the six high-risk areas, all visitors must show proof that they have received three COVID shots. -19 at least 14 days before their visit, Chen said.
People who have not received all three shots can present a negative COVID-19 test taken on the day of the visit, or show proof that they have had the disease and completed quarantine within the last three months, a he declared.
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