Yesterday was the first time in 193 days that all daily COVID-19 case numbers returned to zero, with the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) reporting no new infections or deaths.
“This is the first time since April 8, which was 193 days ago, that we reported zero ... locally transmitted cases, imported cases and deaths,” said Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Director-General Chou Jih-haw (周志浩), who also heads the CECC’s disease surveillance division. “Of course, we are glad to see the numbers return to zero, but we need to work hard to keep up the good work.”
Chou said that a total of 356,483 COVID-19 vaccine doses were administered on Sunday and yesterday, bringing the nation’s first-dose vaccination rate to 62.4 percent, with 84.61 doses administered per 100 people.
Photo courtesy of the CDC
Separately at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday morning, a reporter asked Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the CECC, whether Taiwan was close to lowering the COVID-19 alert to level 1.
“You can say so,” Chen said.
Asked if it could be lowered to level 1 by next month, Chou said at the news briefing that it could be lowered by then, but that the CECC was still discussing comprehensive criteria for adjusting the alert level and would make a public announcement as soon as a final decision is made.
Photo: CNA
Asked about a physician’s remark that border control measures would most likely be eased after May next year, Chou said: “Reopening the national borders is a very big decision, and it would depend on the global COVID-19 situation and Taiwan’s preparedness for it.”
Reopening borders is a frequently discussed issue, and changes in the government’s policy would be announced when a final decision is made, he said.
Chen urged people to get vaccinated as early as possible, adding that mixing vaccine brands might be possible next month, depending on supply.
Asked to confirm whether mixing COVID-19 vaccines would be an option for the public from next month, Chou said that the decision would be made according to the supply of vaccines in Taiwan and specialists’ recommendations.
As of 1pm yesterday, more than 860,000 people, or 63.6 percent, had booked an appointment for their first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in the first phase of the 12th round of vaccinations, which opened at 10am yesterday, he said.
Taipei Deputy Mayor Tsai Ping-kun (蔡炳坤) said that the city can administer up to 200,000 doses of vaccines per week, but asking for 600,000 doses to be administered in two weeks for the 12th round of vaccinations was overwhelming to the city’s healthcare capacity.
CDC Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥), who is the CECC’s spokesman, said the center would assist local governments in meeting this challenging task by adding five vaccination stations.
That meant an extra batch of more than 45,000 people could book appointments for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine yesterday afternoon, Chuang said.
KONG-REY: A woman was killed in a vehicle hit by a tree, while 205 people were injured as the storm moved across the nation and entered the Taiwan Strait Typhoon Kong-rey slammed into Taiwan yesterday as one of the biggest storms to hit the nation in decades, whipping up 10m waves, triggering floods and claiming at least one life. Kong-rey made landfall in Taitung County’s Chenggong Township (成功) at 1:40pm, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The typhoon — the first in Taiwan’s history to make landfall after mid-October — was moving north-northwest at 21kph when it hit land, CWA data showed. The fast-moving storm was packing maximum sustained winds of 184kph, with gusts of up to 227kph, CWA data showed. It was the same strength as Typhoon Gaemi, which was the most
TECH EFFECT: While Chiayi County was the oldest region in the nation, Hsinchu county and city, home of the nation’s chip industry, were the youngest, the report showed Seven of the nation’s administrative regions, encompassing 57.2 percent of Taiwan’s townships and villages, became “super-aged societies” in June, the Ministry of the Interior said in its latest report. A region is considered super-aged if 20 percent of the population is aged 65 or older. The ministry report showed that Taiwan had 4,391,744 people aged 65 or older as of June, representing 18.76 percent of the total population and an increase of 1,024,425 people compared with August 2018. In June, the nation’s elderly dependency ratio was 27.3 senior citizens per 100 working-aged people, an increase of 7.39 people over August 2018, it said. That
‘UNITED FRONT’: The married couple allegedly produced talk show videos for platforms such as Facebook and YouTube to influence Taiwan’s politics A husband and wife affiliated with the China Unification Promotion Party (CUPP) were indicted yesterday for allegedly receiving NT$74 million (US$2.32 million) from China to make radio and digital media propaganda to promote the Chinese government’s political agenda and influence the outcome of Taiwan’s elections. Chang Meng-chung (張孟崇) and his wife, Hung Wen-ting (洪文婷), allegedly received a total of NT$74 million from China between 2021 and last year to promote candidates favored by Beijing, contravening the Anti-Infiltration Act (反滲透法) and election laws, the Chiayi District Prosecutors’ Office said. The couple acted as Beijing’s propaganda mouthpiece by disparaging Hong Kong democracy activists
EARLY ARRIVALS: The first sets of HIMARS purchased from the US arrived ahead of their scheduled delivery, with troops already training on the platforms, a source said The Ministry of National Defense (MND) yesterday said it spotted 35 Chinese military aircraft, including fighters and bombers, flying to the south of Taiwan proper on the way to exercises in the Pacific, a second consecutive day it has reported such activities. The Chinese Ministry of National Defense did not respond to a request for comment on the missions, reported just days before tomorrow’s US presidential election. The US is bound by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself. Its arms sales to Taipei include a US$2 billion missile system announced last month. The MND said that from 9am yesterday,