TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) expert on Thursday (Sept. 8) expressed his opinion that the "3 + 4" quarantine protocol can be lifted because the daily number of local COVID infections is far more than imported cases.

With the opening of Taiwan's borders to travelers from select countries to take effect on Sept. 12, many are starting to wonder whether the "3 + 4" quarantine will also be phased out. CECC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) convener Lee Ping-ing (李秉穎) said during a Thursday interview with BaoDao Radio host Clara Chou (周玉蔻), that he thinks the quarantine can be relaxed.

However, Lee said that because a new wave of cases caused by the Omicron subvariant BA.5 has begun in Taiwan, "Top-level (government officials) may be a little concerned." He said for that reason, the current quarantine scheme may remain in place for the time being.

Lee reasoned that, like in Taiwan, BA.5 is already prevalent across the world, so there is no need to worry much about imported cases. Because local cases are already much higher than imported cases, Lee said that in his opinion, the entry quarantine no longer needs to be so strict.

Although the local outbreak is heating up again with 41,021 cases reported on Wednesday (Sept. 7), Lee said that the number of severe cases and deaths have not increased. He said that this indicates that the disease is becoming more like the common cold with relatively mild symptoms.

Lee pointed out that BA.5 causes breakthrough infections, but will only increase the number of mild infections and the mortality rate will not rise significantly. He said that "our immune system" can still prevent infection of this subvariant from leading to severe illness.

When Chou asked if CECC head Victor Wang (王必勝) would listen to his advice on ending the "3 + 4" quarantine, Lee jokingly said, "I don't know."