TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Taiwan Society of Emergency Medicine (TSEM) on Sunday (April 24) urged people who suspect they have COVID to avoid going to hospital emergency rooms to undergo testing unless they have severe symptoms, and instead opt for home testing or a testing station.

When their colleagues and friends are diagnosed with COVID, many people rush to the hospital to be tested, but this may increase the risk of exposure to the virus and overload the system. In a press release issued that day, the TSEM urged the public to first assess whether they have a history of exposure to infected persons or have been listed as a contact of a case, and then evaluate their own symptoms before deciding how to be tested or seek medical treatment so as not to affect the treatment of critically ill patients and expose themselves to a potential cluster infection.

The society then provided a list of four scenarios and the recommended course of action:

1. No contact history, no symptoms
   
   People with no history of exposure and no symptoms do not need to be tested. They should not request testing at medical institutions or community screening stations.


2. No contact history, but mild symptoms; or have been exposed but asymptomatic
   
   Use home rapid antigen test kit.


3. Have contact history, but mild symptoms; or tested positive on home test kit
   
   People in home isolation or quarantine should immediately contact the local health department or call 1922 and follow the instructions given.
   
   Those who are not isolating or quarantining at home and test positive should go to a nearby designated community testing station to take a PCR test as soon as possible.


4. Has severe symptoms
   
   Any person who has severe symptoms such as wheezing or difficulty breathing, delirium, or persistent chest pain should seek medical attention immediately.