The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported 15 locally transmitted COVID-19 infections, three imported cases and four deaths.
Six of the local cases tested positive during isolation or upon ending isolation, said Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center.
The local infections were all reported in northern Taiwan. New Taipei City led the case count with seven infections, followed by Taipei with five cases and Taoyuan with three, he said.
Photo: CNA
The infection sources of nine cases have been identified and six remain unclear, CECC data showed.
Asked if a nationwide level 3 COVID-19 alert could be lowered after Monday next week and whether there might still be hidden transmission chains in Taipei and New Taipei City, Chen said while the trend seems relatively stable, the COVID-19 situation can change quickly, so the center is still working to keep the outbreak under control.
The test positivity rate has dropped from 0.1 percent to between 0.02 and 0.06 percent over the past two weeks, which is much lower than the WHO’s recommendation that test positivity rates remain below or at 5 percent for 14 days before countries or regions reopen, Chen said.
Photo courtesy of Central Epidemic Command Center
About 40,000 to 60,000 tests are conducted daily on weekdays and about 30,000 tests daily on weekends, but the test positivity remains low, he added.
However, Chen said the situation in Taipei and New Taipei City is more complicated, as community spread is still occurring there, so bringing the daily confirmed cases back to zero might be difficult.
Reporters asked Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞) about a news report on Saturday that the CECC on Thursday informed healthcare facilities that fully vaccinated medical workers, hospitalized people and their accompanying caregivers would be exempted from regular mandatory testing.
Lo said the weekly COVID-19 testing of healthcare professionals started in the middle of May, so they have been tested many times.
As many of them have been fully vaccinated, they should no longer be required to undergo weekly testing, he said.
However, if medical workers, hospitalized people and their accompanying caregivers show COVID-19 symptoms, they can still receive a government-funded test in hospital, he added.
The CECC also reported three imported cases, from Spain, the UK and the US.
The four people who died were three men and one woman, aged between 40 and 90.
They all had underlying health conditions, CECC data showed.
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
ECONOMIC BOOST: Should the more than 23 million people eligible for the NT$10,000 handouts spend them the same way as in 2023, GDP could rise 0.5 percent, an official said Universal cash handouts of NT$10,000 (US$330) are to be disbursed late next month at the earliest — including to permanent residents and foreign residents married to Taiwanese — pending legislative approval, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例). The NT$550 billion special budget includes NT$236 billion for the cash handouts, plus an additional NT$20 billion set aside as reserve funds, expected to be used to support industries. Handouts might begin one month after the bill is promulgated and would be completed within
The National Development Council (NDC) yesterday unveiled details of new regulations that ease restrictions on foreigners working or living in Taiwan, as part of a bid to attract skilled workers from abroad. The regulations, which could go into effect in the first quarter of next year, stem from amendments to the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及僱用法) passed by lawmakers on Aug. 29. Students categorized as “overseas compatriots” would be allowed to stay and work in Taiwan in the two years after their graduation without obtaining additional permits, doing away with the evaluation process that is currently required,
RELEASED: Ko emerged from a courthouse before about 700 supporters, describing his year in custody as a period of ‘suffering’ and vowed to ‘not surrender’ Former Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was released on NT$70 million (US$2.29 million) bail yesterday, bringing an end to his year-long incommunicado detention as he awaits trial on corruption charges. Under the conditions set by the Taipei District Court on Friday, Ko must remain at a registered address, wear a GPS-enabled ankle monitor and is prohibited from leaving the country. He is also barred from contacting codefendants or witnesses. After Ko’s wife, Peggy Chen (陳佩琪), posted bail, Ko was transported from the Taipei Detention Center to the Taipei District Court at 12:20pm, where he was fitted with the tracking
RSS