Taiwan yesterday again registered no new cases of COVID-19 — the third time this week — as the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said that travelers arriving from Southeast Asia, where the pandemic appears to be getting worse, would be the focus of stricter screening.
With no additional cases reported on Tuesday, Thursday and yesterday, Taiwan maintained its tally of confirmed infections at 395, including six deaths.
Of the 395 cases, 340 were imported and 55 were local infections, while 166 patients have been discharged from quarantine facilities following treatment, the center’s data showed.
Photo: EPA
Asked if reporting zero new cases again means that the disease is abating in Taiwan, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) told a daily news conference at the center in Taipei that while this might be the case, based on US standards, an epidemic can only be said to be abating when the number of new cases continues to drop for two consecutive weeks.
In that case, Taiwan’s situation can be described as “stable,” as the number of locally transmitted cases was either zero or one over the past few days, he said, while urging people to continue observing preventive measures.
Over the past week, the number of tests conducted daily for possible infection has dropped from nearly 1,300 to 1,100 to 900, CECC advisory specialist panel convener Chang Shan-chwen (張上淳) said.
In its investigations of cluster infections, the center did not find people without symptoms, which means asymptomatic people did not cause any community spread, he said.
As the disease seems to be spiraling out of control in Southeast Asia, where some countries are not as transparent about information, the center is mulling stricter quarantine measures for travelers arriving from the region, as it has done with those from Europe and the US, said Chen, who heads the center.
Prior to the news briefing, a Taipei-based food courier union staged a protest outside the center, calling for attention to be paid to the risks couriers face.
Some couriers did not know their customers were in home quarantine or isolation until apartment managers told them, union chairman Chen Hung-jui (陳泓瑞) said.
The government and food delivery platform operators have not provided couriers with a quota of masks, making them potential loopholes in disease prevention efforts, lawyer Chen Yu-hsin (陳又新) said, urging authorities to improve their working conditions.
Chen Shih-chung said that the center would meet with representatives of food couriers and postal workers, and soon release guidelines for protecting the delivery industry.
To ease the burden on pharmacies selling masks, pharmacists may close their stores on Sundays from this weekend, he said.
Asked about a UK think tank’s index that ranked Taiwan as the seventh-safest nation amid the pandemic — behind China in fifth place — Chen Shih-chung said that he was at first surprised to see countries that have reported more deaths rank better.
However, after studying the evaluation criteria used for the index, he said that he found it placed more emphasis on the procedures than the results of a nation’s quarantine policies.
As Taiwan has not conducted large-scale screening like other nations, the statistics cited by the index might not show its strength, he said, adding that the center could discuss the evaluation with the think tank.
Separately, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that another automatic 30-day visa extension has been granted to foreign visitors who entered Taiwan on or before March 21, citing increased travel restrictions worldwide amid the pandemic.
The announcement followed an initial automatic 30-day visa extension the ministry granted on March 21.
“All travelers who entered Taiwan on or before March 21 on a visitor visa, a landing visa or through a visa-waiver program who have not overstayed their legal stay period would be granted a second automatic 30-day extension,” with no application required, the Bureau of Consular Affairs said in a news release.
The total period of stay cannot exceed 180 days, it said, adding that the conditions are subject to change or may be adjusted as circumstances require.
Additional reporting by CNA
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
Typhoon Usagi yesterday had weakened into a tropical storm, but a land warning issued by the Central Weather Administration (CWA) was still in effect in four areas in southern Taiwan. As of 5pm yesterday, Tropical Storm Usagi was over waters 120km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), the southernmost tip of Taiwan proper, and was moving north at 9kph, CWA data showed. The storm was expected to veer northeast later yesterday. It had maximum sustained winds of 101kph, with gusts of up to 126kph, the data showed. The CWA urged residents of Kaohsiung, Pingtung County, Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春) to remain alert to
ONE LAST TALK: While Xi said that Taiwan was a ‘red line,’ Biden, in what is likely his last meeting with Xi as president, called for an end to China’s military activity around Taiwan China’s military intimidation and economic coercion against Taiwan are the main causes of tensions that are destabilizing peace in the Taiwan Strait, Taipei said yesterday while thanking US President Joe Biden for expressing Washington’s firm stance of maintaining peace and stability in the region. Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) met on Saturday for their third meeting and their first talks in seven months on the sidelines of the APEC forum in Lima, Peru. It was likely Biden’s last meeting as president with Xi. During their conversation, Biden reiterated the US’ opposition to any unilateral change to the “status quo” from either
Taiwan would participate in the 2026 APEC summit to be hosted by China after Beijing promised it would ensure the personal safety of attendees, Taiwanese national security sources said yesterday. The APEC Leaders’ Machu Picchu Declaration announced yesterday said that China would host the APEC summit in 2026. Beijing proposed hosting the summit shortly before this year’s gathering began on Friday, a national security official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Many APEC members expressed concerns about China hosting the event and said that prior communication over the decision was insufficient, the official said. Taiwan brought up concerns about legal “guidelines” China announced in
RSS