A temporary vaccination center offering the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at Taipei Railway Station would remain in service until Sunday, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday, extending the deadline from today.
The temporary site was opened on Sunday to bolster the nation’s vaccination coverage, allowing eligible recipients to directly get vaccinated on site without an appointment. Vaccine recipients are also offered a NT$100 gift voucher to be spent at Pxmart supermarket outlets.
People formed long lines in the station’s main hall on the first day of the center’s opening, prompting the CECC to deploy more healthcare personnel. Two extra vaccination sites were set up in the main hall on Monday due to high demand.
Photo: CNA
Deputy Minister of the Interior Chen Tsung-yen (陳宗彥), who is deputy head of the CECC, said 2,814 doses were administered at the temporary site on Tuesday and a total of 5,623 doses had been administered since Sunday.
As more people than expected turned out for vaccination, the CECC extended the site’s service period to Sunday, he said, adding that operating hours are from 1pm to 8pm.
All people in Taiwan, regardless of nationality, can get vaccinated if they meet the eligibility criteria, and a small gift would continue to be offered to the recipients, Chen said.
On Monday, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the CECC, said migrant workers who have overstayed their visas would not be turned over to the police when they show up for COVID-19 vaccination, encouraging them to get vaccinated.
However, local media on Tuesday reported that an undocumented migrant worker was asked to turn herself in and pay a fine, and was later arrested by police after going to a public health center in Hsinchu County’s Sinfeng Township (新豐) for vaccination.
Chen Tsung-yen yesterday said medical personnel at the Hsinchu site might have misunderstood the policy, so the CECC on Tuesday evening sent an emergency reminder to all related agencies.
The CECC has launched a special program for undocumented foreign nationals in Taiwan to get vaccinated, promising that those who have overstayed their visas would not be reported, investigated, fined or barred from re-entry when they visit a health center to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, he said.
Foreign nationals who overstay their visas are generally barred from re-entering Taiwan for a period after leaving the nation.
A similar program was launched for undocumented foreign nationals to get tested for COVID-19 amid a local outbreak earlier this year, he said, adding that more than 7,000 overstayers got tested at the time, but they were not detained or punished.
A temporary identification number would be given to undocumented foreign nationals who have no identity documents, by either the National Immigration Agency, the healthcare facility or non-governmental organizations that work with migrant workers, when they get vaccinated, Chen Tsung-yen said, adding that the number would only be used to keep a record of vaccination.
Undocumented foreign nationals who have identity documents, whether expired or not, can make a vaccination appointment or visit a drop-in vaccination site to receive a shot directly, he said.
The CECC called on the more than 83,000 overstayers in Taiwan to get vaccinated without fear of punishment and urged employers of undocumented foreign nationals to help convey the message to their employees.
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday said it is fully aware of the situation following reports that the son of ousted Chinese politician Bo Xilai (薄熙來) has arrived in Taiwan and is to marry a Taiwanese. Local media reported that Bo Guagua (薄瓜瓜), son of the former member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, is to marry the granddaughter of Luodong Poh-Ai Hospital founder Hsu Wen-cheng (許文政). The pair met when studying abroad and arranged to get married this year, with the wedding breakfast to be held at The One holiday resort in Hsinchu
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon this morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan between Friday and Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The storm, which as of 8am was still 1,100km southeast of southern Taiwan, is currently expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, the CWA said. Because of its rapid speed — 28kph as of 8am — a sea warning for the storm could be issued tonight, rather than tomorrow, as previously forecast, the CWA said. In terms of its impact, Usagi is to bring scattered or
An orange gas cloud that leaked from a waste management plant yesterday morning in Taoyuan’s Guanyin District (觀音) was likely caused by acidic waste, authorities said, adding that it posed no immediate harm. The leak occurred at a plant in the district’s Environmental Science and Technology Park at about 7am, the Taoyuan Fire Department said. Firefighters discovered a cloud of unidentified orange gas leaking from a waste tank when they arrived on the site, it said, adding that they put on Level A chemical protection before entering the building. After finding there was no continuous leak, the department worked with the city’s Department
MESSAGE: The ministry said China and the Philippines are escalating regional tensions, and Taiwan should be included in dialogue mechanisms on an equal footing Taiwan has rejected renewed sovereignty claims over the South China Sea by the Philippines and China by reaffirming its sovereignty and rights under international law over the disputed area. “The Republic of China [ROC] enjoys all rights to island groups and their surrounding waters in the South China Sea in accordance with international law and maritime laws,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said in a statement yesterday. Other countries’ attempts to claim sovereignty over the South China Sea do not change the fact that the ROC holds sovereignty over the region, the ministry said. The MOFA statement came after
RSS