Colleges can ask new students to be tested for COVID-19 before they move into their dorms next month, according to government guidelines obtained exclusively by the Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper).
The Ministry of Education’s guidelines on the prevention and management of COVID-19 on college campuses are expected to be released in the next few days.
To protect the health and safety of faculty members and students, schools may include polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests or rapid screening for COVID-19 in their health exams for new students, in accordance with the School Health Act (學校衛生法), the guidelines say.
Photo courtesy of National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University
However, those tests cannot be used as a requirement for students to be admitted, they say.
During their health examination, new students would be checked for fever, coughing, shortness of breath or other respiratory symptoms, as well as diarrhea and loss of smell or taste.
To prevent cluster infections, students may also be asked to undergo a PCR or rapid screening test before they move into their dorms, the guidelines say, adding that colleges would assist in reporting positive cases and arranging medical treatment.
Colleges would be allowed to hold online classes, while in-person classes would be limited to a maximum of 80 people, who would have to sit in assigned seats and wear a mask at all times, the guidelines say, adding that classrooms must be well-ventilated.
Social distancing must be observed in physical education, music and swimming classes, as well as practicums.
Students in swimming classes would be required to wear a mask except when they are in the water, while those in practicums or labs would be assigned fixed groups to avoid contamination of equipment.
Indoor and outdoor sports venues may fill up to 50 percent of their total capacity, the guidelines say.
Restaurants on campuses would be open for on-site eating, with diners required to leave their contact information and be separated by dividers, they say.
While faculty members at elementary, junior-high and high schools would be required to have PCR or rapid screening tests if they have not been vaccinated against COVID-19, the same would not be required for faculty at colleges, as they have not been listed as a priority group for vaccination, the guidelines say.
Although universities nationwide are expected to open from Sept. 13 to Sept. 27, several colleges have tentatively decided to adopt distance learning for the first two weeks of classes due to fears about the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2.
Additional reporting by Wu Po-hsuan
Rain is to increase from Wednesday morning as Severe Tropical Storm Kong-Rey approaches, with sea warnings to be issued as early as tomorrow afternoon, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. As of 8am, Kong-Rey was 1,050km east-southeast of the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春) heading in a northwesterly direction toward Taiwan, CWA Forecast Center Director Lin Po-tung (林伯東) said. Rainfall is to increase from Wednesday morning, especially in northern Taiwan and Yilan County, he said. A sea warning is possible from tomorrow afternoon, while a land warning may be issued on Wednesday morning, he added. Kong-Rey may intensify into a moderate typhoon as it passes
Hong Kong singer Andy Lau’s (劉德華) concert in Taipei tonight has been cancelled due to Typhoon Kong-rei and is to be held at noon on Saturday instead, the concert organizer SuperDome said in a statement this afternoon. Tonight’s concert at Taipei Arena was to be the first of four consecutive nightly performances by Lau in Taipei, but it was called off at the request of Taipei Metro, the operator of the venue, due to the weather, said the organizer. Taipei Metro said the concert was cancelled out of consideration for the audience’s safety. The decision disappointed a number of Lau’s fans who had
Taiwan yesterday issued warnings to four Chinese coast guard vessels that intruded into restricted waters around the Taiwan-controlled Kinmen Islands, according to the Coast Guard Administration (CGA). The four China Coast Guard ships were detected approaching restricted waters south of Kinmen at around 2 pm yesterday, the CGA’s Kinmen-Matsu Branch said in a statement. The CGA said it immediately deployed four patrol boats to closely monitor the situation. When the Chinese ships with the hull numbers "14512," "14609," "14603" and "14602" separately entered the restricted waters off Fuhsing islet (復興嶼), Zhaishan (翟山), Sinhu (新湖) and Liaoluo (料羅) at 3 pm, the Taiwanese patrol
A former member of the US Naval Special Warfare Development Group (DEVGRU), formerly known as SEAL Team 6, said in an interview with Business Insider that the elite unit’s role in a Taiwan Strait conflict would be more limited than some might expect. The report follows an earlier one in September by the Financial Times, which said the “clandestine US Navy commando unit” has been training for missions to help Taiwan if it is invaded by China. “You don’t use a scalpel for a job a hammer can do,” the former Navy Seal said to Business Insider on condition of anonymity.