TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — On Wednesday (Oct. 5), a public health expert at National Taiwan University (NTU) called on Taiwan to drop its mask mandate, with a few exceptions.
In his weekly online show on the COVID pandemic, NTU's College of Public Health professor Tony Chen (陳秀熙) said that the mask mandate should be lifted except for public spaces, mass transit, and crowded venues. Chen said that the government regulations should be replaced with a policy of "mask autonomy."
Chen pointed out that the COVID pandemic is subsiding, but the virus will become an endemic disease. He said that because Taiwan had adopted a high standard of epidemic prevention measures, the local outbreak came later than in other countries.
Chen predicted that as COVID becomes a local endemic disease, Taiwan will also face a spike in respiratory diseases over the winter. In order to adapt to this transition period, he proposed that Taiwan adopt a “semi-endemic” disease prevention model with four components.
First, he said that instead of reporting daily cases, Taiwan should focus on "surveillance" of moderate to severe cases and deaths.
Second, Chen advocated that Taiwan place more emphasis on "vaccination and antiviral medication" with bivalent vaccines and influenza shots made available to all adults to improve the level of immunity within the community. He also called for wider availability of antiviral drugs for people aged 50 and over who have underlying health conditions.
Third, regarding quarantine, Chen recommended the use of "precise home isolation" for mild cases based on age, vaccination status, and use of antiviral drugs. As for close contacts of cases, those who have received the next-generation bivalent vaccine or a fourth dose of other vaccines should be permitted to forego the "0+7" formula and practice a "0+0" approach instead, while those who have not received additional shots should be permitted to adopt the "0+7" formula over than the "3+4" policy.
Fourth, Chen said that mask restrictions should be lifted, with the exception of public spaces, mass transportation, and crowded venues. He advocated adopting a policy of "mask autonomy."