The government is preparing a NT$100 billion (US$3.3 billion) stimulus package and monitoring global financial markets amid COVID-19 outbreaks worldwide, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said yesterday.
The Legislative Yuan, following its passage of the legal basis for a special budget, is now reviewing the details of the NT$60 billion budget, Tsai said, after convening a high-level national security meeting.
An additional NT$40 billion would be sourced from existing government budgets and other funding, such as the Employment Security Fund and the Tourism Development Fund, and added to the stimulus package, she said.
Photo: Ann Wang, Reuters
The Executive Yuan should inventory all government business and, with the exception of the national defense industry, implement all domestic demand projects with maximum efficacy, Tsai said.
The government should also increase investment in the private sector, particularly Taiwanese businesses returning to invest in the nation, she said.
Tsai instructed the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Financial Supervisory Committee and the central bank to monitor international markets, especially Wall Street.
Photo: CNA
The government should endeavor to stabilize domestic finances and, to the best of its ability, prevent the public from being overly pressured by the coronavirus, Tsai said.
Earlier yesterday, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) announced a new confirmed case of COVID-19.
The nation’s 49th case is a woman in her 40s living in northern Taiwan, who traveled through the UK, Ireland, Belgium and Turkey from Feb. 21 to Sunday, said Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, adding that she exhibited no symptoms on her return.
The woman on Tuesday visited a hospital after experiencing a headache, fatigue and a sore throat, and was yesterday confirmed to have contracted COVID-19, he said.
Based on her activities prior to the onset of symptoms, she likely contracted the disease abroad, the center said.
She did not leave her home after returning from her trip, except to seek medical help, and none of her relatives who live with her have exhibited symptoms, the center said.
A group of 361 Taiwanese who were evacuated from Wuhan, China, late on Tuesday and early on Wednesday had all been tested for the coronavirus as of Wednesday afternoon, the center said.
Among them, 280 had tested negative, it said, while the results for the other 81 were not available when the center held a news conference at 3pm yesterday.
None of the 361 had fevers or other symptoms, it added.
Asked whether the government would adjust control measures on foreign travelers after the WHO on Wednesday declared COVID-19 a pandemic, Chen said that authorities are considering expanding coronavirus testing if needed.
If testing is expanded to foreign travelers entering Taiwan, they might need to pay for the tests themselves, he said.
Asked under what conditions testing would be expanded and who might be tested, Chen cited as an example foreign officials on short visits.
Under such circumstances, the center would allow travelers to be tested, depending on the nation’s testing capacity, he said.
However, because a person’s viral load might be too small to be detected when they are asymptomatic, the center is still assessing the proposal, he added.
Asked whether travel measures would be adjusted for the US, Chen said that “overall, the number of confirmed cases per 1 million people [in the US] is not that high,” adding that the US’ population and size are also relatively large.
The center would probably next implement measures by state and region, he said.
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