An abrupt change in how a high-risk COVID-19 patient will be defined, and thus qualify for monitored at-home treatment, is expected to cause confusion as the new system is set to take effect on Thursday. 

A Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters briefing on Wednesday sent some mixed messaging on who would qualify for the twice daily health checkup calls under the new home treatment system first introduced on Monday. 

It is now understood that people in their 50s with preexisting conditions and immunocompromised patients will not be included in the government's definition of a high-risk COVID-19 patient. They would instead belong to the low-risk group, which is responsible to monitor their own health conditions and contact a local clinic should symptoms deteriorate. 

The change was explained as such people in their 50s would already be receiving treatment at a local clinic or hospital, should their conditions be poor. Health authorities reiterated the focus will be to direct medical resources to high-risk patients in order to prevent critical cases from rising. 

The classification for a high-risk COVID-19 patient, as it relates to home treatment, are now patients aged 60 and older, and those who have been prescribed the Paxlovid oral medication and determined to require additional care.