Taipei is likely to set up a COVID-19 vaccination passport system that would result in people being seated in different areas in restaurants depending on vaccination status, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said yesterday.
Ko made the remark at a news conference to promote the Fun Guandu festival at Guandu Temple in the city’s Beitou District (北投).
During the event’s opening speech, Ko said he expects that more than 70 percent of Taipei residents would be fully vaccinated by the end of January and that Taiwan’s COVID-19 situation would ease fully before the Lunar New Year next year.
Photo: Yang Hsin-hui, Taipei Times
“Theoretically, people would not need to wear a mask after having received two doses,” he said, adding that with the expected progress in COVID-19 drug development, Taiwan could ease border restrictions in January.
“People who have not been vaccinated should go get their shots as soon as possible, because we will introduce a vaccination passport soon,” Ko said.
The passport would be integrated with the TaipeiPASS app, which would flash a “green light” for fully vaccinated people, “yellow” for those who had their first shot and “red” for unvaccinated people, he said.
Fully vaccinated people would be able to choose seats in restaurants freely, while unvaccinated people would be seated in separate areas with table dividers, Ko said.
More than 60 percent of Taipei residents have received at least one vaccine dose, he said.
As many people who are registered elsewhere live in the capital, it is possible that the actual first-dose coverage is about 70 percent, with 30 percent of people in Taipei being fully vaccinated, Ko said.
“As vaccine production has accelerated and Taipei can administer about 40,000 doses per day, I hope that the full-vaccination rate reaches about 70 percent by the end of the year,” he said.
Asked about Ko’s statement on mask wearing, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) said that the mask mandates would not be fully eased before the Lunar New Year.
Vaccinations would continue, said Chen, who heads the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC).
Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥), who is a CECC spokesman, said that as long as there are COVID-19 outbreaks abroad, wearing a mask would be the “last line of defense” to prevent imported cases from spreading.
SUPPORT: Arms sales to NATO Plus countries such as Japan, South Korea and Israel only have to be approved by the US Congress if they exceed US$25m The US should amend a law to add Taiwan to the list of “NATO Plus” allies and streamline future arms sales, a US commission said on Tuesday in its annual report to the US Congress. The recommendation was made in the annual report by the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC), which contained chapters on US-China economic and trade ties, security relations, and Taiwan and Hong Kong. In the chapter on Taiwan, the commission urged the US Congress to “amend the Arms Export Control Act of 1976 to include Taiwan on the list of ‘NATO Plus’ recipients,” referring to
Taiwan yesterday advanced to the gold medal match of the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s (WBSC) Premier12 for the first time in history, despite last night losing 9-6 to Japan. Taiwan advanced after the US defeated Venezuela in the first game on the last day of the Super Round. However, the US had no chance of advancing to the championship game unless it defeated Venezuela by at least nine points. The US won 6-5. As a result, the two teams — who both had one win and two losses in the Super Round — are to face off again in the
Minister of Labor Ho Pei-shan (何佩珊) said she would tender her resignation following criticism of her handling of alleged bullying by Ministry of Labor Workforce Development Agency branch director Hsieh Yi-jung (謝宜容) resulting in the death of an employee. The ministry yesterday gave Hsieh two demerits and said she is subject to review by the Disciplinary Court. The severest possible punishment would be her removal from office and being barred from government jobs indefinitely. Workforce Development Agency Director-General Tsai Meng-liang (蔡孟良) also received a major demerit and was transferred to another position. Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) issued a formal apology
FREEDOM CURTAILED: The conviction of 45 democracy advocates proves the ‘unworkability’ of Beijing’s ‘one country, two systems’ model, the Presidential Office said Taiwan yesterday condemned China over the jailing of 45 Hong Kong activists, saying “democracy is not a crime.” The government “strongly condemned the Chinese government’s use of judicial measures and unfair procedures to suppress the political participation and freedom of speech of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy activists,” Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) said in a statement. International condemnation of the jailings has been swift, with the US, Australia and rights groups slamming the sentencing as evidence of the erosion of political freedoms in the territory since Beijing imposed a national security law in 2020. Yesterday’s sentencing “not only breaks the promises of ‘50
RSS