Taoyuan Mayor Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) yesterday said that all beauty salons in the city must close from Friday to Thursday next week or face a fine, in the latest restriction imposed by the city to contain the spread of COVID-19.
The call came after Taoyuan recorded 29 locally transmitted COVID-19 cases on Monday, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the city to 475.
The city has the third-highest number of confirmed cases in Taiwan, following New Taipei City and Taipei.
Photo copied by Chen En-hui, Taipei Times
Taoyuan is the first municipality to order the closure of beauty salons, which Cheng described as establishments that provide hairdressing, and nail and eyelash treatments.
There is a three-day grace period from yesterday through tomorrow before the policy takes effect on Friday.
Violators would face a fine of NT$3,000 to NT$15,000, Cheng said.
He also said that the number of COVID-19 screening sites in the city would be expanded from 14 to 18 — 11 at hospitals and seven in communities.
All of the stations provide polymerase chain reaction tests and can process a combined 5,200 samples per day, he said.
The city is planning to set up at least two large vaccination sites and some smaller sites once the central government has received more vaccines and is ready to launch a large-scale rollout, he added.
The Taoyuan City Government has also urged city residents to follow a voluntary ID number-based rotation system to reduce crowding at traditional markets.
The markets have been identified as hotspots for virus transmission because of their cramped conditions and poor ventilation.
Under the rotation system, people whose ID numbers end with an even digit are advised to limit visits to traditional markets to Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, while those with an odd number in the last digit of their ID cards should visit on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.
A decision to describe a Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement on Singapore’s Taiwan policy as “erroneous” was made because the city-state has its own “one China policy” and has not followed Beijing’s “one China principle,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tien Chung-kwang (田中光) said yesterday. It has been a longstanding practice for the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to speak on other countries’ behalf concerning Taiwan, Tien said. The latest example was a statement issued by the PRC after a meeting between Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on the sidelines of the APEC summit
Taiwan’s passport ranked 34th in the world, with access to 141 visa-free destinations, according to the latest update to the Henley Passport Index released today. The index put together by Henley & Partners ranks 199 passports globally based on the number of destinations holders can access without a visa out of 227, and is updated monthly. The 141 visa-free destinations for Taiwanese passport holders are a slight decrease from last year, when holders had access to 145 destinations. Botswana and Columbia are among the countries that have recently ended visa-free status for Taiwanese after “bowing to pressure from the Chinese government,” the Ministry
HEALTHCARE: Following a 2022 Constitutional Court ruling, Taiwanese traveling overseas for six months would no longer be able to suspend their insurance Measures allowing people to suspend National Health Insurance (NHI) services if they plan to leave the country for six months would be abolished starting Dec. 23, NHIA Director-General Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said yesterday. The decision followed the Constitutional Court’s ruling in 2022 that the regulation was unconstitutional and that it would invalidate the regulation automatically unless the NHIA amended it to conform with the Constitution. The agency would amend the regulations to remove the articles and sections that allow the suspension of NHI services, and also introduce provisional clauses for those who suspended their NHI services before Dec. 23, Shih said. According to
Minister of Labor Ho Pei-shan (何佩珊) yesterday apologized after the suicide of a civil servant earlier this month and announced that a supervisor accused of workplace bullying would be demoted. On Nov. 4, a 39-year-old information analyst at the Workforce Development Agency’s (WDA) northern branch, which covers greater Taipei and Keelung, as well as Yilan, Lienchiang and Kinmen counties, was found dead in their office. WDA northern branch director Hsieh Yi-jung (謝宜容), who has been accused of involvement in workplace bullying, would be demoted to a nonsupervisory position, Ho told a news conference in Taipei. WDA Director-General Tsai Meng-liang (蔡孟良) said he would
RSS