The government’s autumn-winter COVID-19 prevention program is to continue beyond Sunday, but eating and drinking on high-speed trains would be allowed from Monday, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) announced yesterday.
Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said that while there were no new confirmed cases in Taiwan yesterday, the global COVID-19 situation remains serious, so the autumn-winter COVID-19 prevention program would be extended beyond its Sunday deadline.
“Border control measures, including requiring a negative polymerase chain reaction test result obtained within three days of boarding a plane to Taiwan, and undergoing quarantine in a designated hotel, centralized quarantine facility or one person per housing unit if at home, will continue to be implemented,” he said.
Photo: CNA
Wearing a mask in eight types of public venues would also be required, and healthcare professionals would continue to adopt the expanded standards for reporting suspected COVID-19 patients for testing, Chen said.
High-speed rail passengers would still be required to wear a mask when not eating or drinking, he added.
Reporters asked Chen about a remark by online news outlet My-Formosa.com president Wu Tzu-chia (吳子嘉) during a radio interview yesterday that the CECC negotiated with Jacobson Medical (Hong Kong) Ltd (雅各臣香港) to purchase Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines in December last year.
Photo: CNA
Chen said that Jacobson Medical on Sept. 18 last year expressed its wish to negotiate a deal, so the center asked it to provide an authorization document, and TTY Biopharm Co Ltd (台灣東洋藥品) offered a 14-day limited authorization from Nov. 9 last year.
However, as the center could not reach an agreement with TTY Biopharm Co before the deadline, negotiations could not continue, he said.
Chen said that the CECC also replied to Jacobson Medical in Taiwan, expressing its thanks to Jacobson Medical Hong Kong for providing information about the vaccines, but as it did not provide a legal authorization document, negotiations could not continue, he said.
Chen said the center held six meetings with BioNTech in August last year and twice in November, through e-mails and conference calls.
Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥), who is the CECC’s spokesman, said BioNTech contacted the CDC on Nov. 11 last year, and five teleconferences were held in November and December.
No other company attended the meetings, he said.
Separately yesterday, as students returned to their classrooms, the Taipei City Government said that 285 campuses in the city had completed disinfection and up to a year’s worth of epidemic prevention supplies had been stocked at the schools.
Taipei Municipal Yongchun Senior High School said it has replenished its mask stocks and gave seven masks to each student as a back-to-school gift.
Several universities also launched disease prevention measures for the new semester starting this week.
Soochow University has launched an e-sticker system for contact information registration at its campus entrances, while National Chengchi University and National Taiwan Normal University are enforcing access controls and real-name registration at their campus entrances.
Additional reporting by CNA
MAKING A MOVE: Starting on Monday, short-term business travelers can apply for shorter quarantine periods, while transits of up to eight hours would be allowed The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday announced an easing of restrictions that would from Monday next week allow foreigners to visit or make a transit flight in Taiwan. A policy allowing short-term business travelers from countries with low or medium risks of COVID-19 infections to apply for shorter quarantine periods is also to resume that day. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said that while the autumn-winter COVID-19 prevention program is to be extended after the end of this month, special conditions for foreign nationals to enter Taiwan would be restored from Monday. Foreign nationals
‘UNFRIENDLY’: COA Minister Chen Chi-chung said that Beijing probably imposed the sanction because the pineapple production season is about to start in Taiwan More than 99 percent of pineapples sold to China passed inspections, the government said yesterday, after China earlier in the day abruptly suspended imports of pineapples from the nation, which Taipei called an “unfriendly” move. From Monday, China is to stop importing pineapples from Taiwan, the Chinese General Administration of Customs said. The regulation is a normal measure for ensuring biosafety, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office spokesman Ma Xiaoguang (馬曉光) said in a news release later yesterday. Since last year, Chinese customs officials have repeatedly seized pineapples imported from Taiwan that carried “perilous organisms,” Ma said. Were the organisms to spread in China, they would
‘ONE PERSON PER UNIT’: People undergoing home isolation cannot stay in a housing unit in which non-isolated people live, unless they have special approval Starting tomorrow, people under home isolation would be required to follow the “one person per housing unit” rule if in private housing, or stay at a quarantine hotel or centralized quarantine facility, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said the rules require people under home quarantine to be quarantined with one person per housing unit, or at a quarantine hotel or centralized quarantine facility. “Starting on March 1, individuals under home isolation will also be subject to the ‘one person per housing unit’ rule,” he said. “We
CHIPS: Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua said Taiwan and the US have a track record of working closely together, of being ‘undeniably trustworthy partners’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday ordered a review of US supply chains, seeking to end the country’s reliance on China and other adversaries for crucial goods. However, the process could take months, offering no immediate solution for a shortfall of semiconductors that has idled vehicle production at several US factories. The Biden administration’s 100-day review is to cover chips, but also large-capacity batteries, pharmaceuticals and strategic materials, such as rare earth elements, a White House statement said. Although Biden did not specifically mention Taiwan on this occasion, the US last month appealed to Taiwan to help with the semiconductor shortages. Media outlets such
RSS