The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday said that it would not ease border restrictions in the short term, as the COVID-19 pandemic is still in a dangerous situation globally, reiterating that mass testing is not necessary in Taiwan at this time.
Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said that no new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in the nation yesterday, so the number of confirmed cases remains at 467, of whom 441 have been released from isolated treatment, while 19 remain hospitalized.
As the CECC reported nine imported cases on Monday and Tuesday, Chung Shan Medical University Hospital Pediatric Emergency department director Hsieh Tsung-hsueh (謝宗學) on Tuesday said on Facebook that many in Taiwan are not aware of the “tidal wave” of COVID-19 outbreaks in nearby countries and how they could affect Taiwan.
Photo: CNA
“There is indeed a ‘tidal wave,’ but it has not struck us yet,” Chen said yesterday, adding that everyone in Taiwan should be aware that the global COVID-19 situation is getting worse, and the number of confirmed cases worldwide has exceeded 16 million, including more than 660,000 deaths.
More than 300 imported cases were reported in Taiwan from the middle of March to early April, but the global COVID-19 situation has worsened since then, so it is inevitable to have some imported, he said.
The CECC would not ease border restrictions in the near term, and would continue to observe the global situation, Chen said, adding that although local communities in Taiwan are relatively safe, everyone should still practice personal protective measures to reduce the risk of local infections to a minimum.
Regarding a Thai migrant worker who tested positive for COVID-19 after returning to Bangkok from Taiwan on Tuesday last week, Chen said the center tested 189 people who have come into close contact with or might have had direct exposure to the man, all of which came out negative.
“The migrant worker tested ‘weak-positive’ for COVID-19, so we have contacted the Thai authority to ask if it would conduct a second test for clarification,” he said.
Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥), who is also CECC spokesperson, said the man visited a clothing store on July 18 and attended a farewell party on July 19 before returning to Thailand, adding that the local health department would continue to trace his contacts.
Chuang said that the center also identified 43 Thai workers who experienced diarrhea or respiratory symptoms last month and this month, and sought treatment at medical facilities, which 18 Thai colleagues of the infected worker had visited in the past few months, and would ask them to undergo reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and antibody testing.
While many have suggested that the center conduct mass testing to find potential asymptomatic cases in Taiwan, the current policy of mandatory 14-day isolation or quarantine and an additional seven-day self-health management for all people entering the nation is effective enough, Chen said.
The RT-PCR test is more precise in detecting positive cases, but the timing of the test is also important, as the test might fail to detect infections during the incubation period, he said.
The 14-day isolation or quarantine is necessary, as infected people might develop symptoms and become more detectable through tests during the period, Chen said, adding that in asymptomatic cases the viral load usually falls to a level so low that the patient is unlikely to infect other people after 14 days, Chen said.
He said the current policy puts emphasis on the 14-day isolation or quarantine period to increase testing precision and separate potential infected patients from the local community, but allowing people to return to the local communities after testing negative in mass testing might increase the risk of local infections.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
RSS