The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday said that 17.2 percent of people — or 225 out of 1,305 — who arrived on flights from China on Friday tested positive for COVID-19.
The number of imported cases has been high over the past few days, said Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥), who is the CECC’s spokesperson.
As China reopened its borders and lifted travel restrictions yesterday, the CECC is continuing to monitor whether the country’s reopening might affect Taiwan, Chuang said.
Photo courtesy of the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT
The “small three links” — direct flights and ferry services linking Taiwan’s outlying islands to China — were partially resumed on Saturday for residents of Kinmen and Lienchiang counties.
Seven of the 37 ferry passengers who arrived in Kinmen from Xiamen, China, were tested for COVID-19 on the first day, the CECC said.
Travelers from Kinmen to Xiamen are required to provide a negative polymerase chain reaction test result within 48 hours before the trip.
Kinmen County Commissioner Chen Fu-hai (陳福海) yesterday said that the same requirement should be applied to travelers from Xiamen to Kinmen.
Separately, the CECC yesterday reported 23,080 new local COVID-19 cases, 331 imported cases and 36 deaths.
Chuang said the local caseload was 8.7 percent lower than the 25,270 cases reported on Sunday last week.
A total of 180,145 local cases were reported from Jan. 1 to Saturday, up 4.4 percent from the previous week’s 172,492, he said.
However, the rate of increase has slowed considerably from the 42.8 percent rise reported between the third and fourth weeks of last month, he added.
Chuang said the daily caseloads have been fluctuating in the third wave of infections driven by the Omicron subvariant of SARS-CoV-2, and the rapid rise in cases last month might have been due to people relaxing their personal preventive measures coupled with more people traveling abroad.
Acquired immunity from infection might have slowed the spread this month, Chuang added.
Of the 36 deaths reported yesterday, the youngest was a man in his 30s who had chronic nervous system disease and was living in a care facility. He had had received five doses of COVID-19 vaccine.
He tested positive on Dec. 30 and on Wednesday died of respiratory failure at a hospital after being diagnosed with pneumonia.
Additional reporting by CNA
Civil society groups yesterday protested outside the Legislative Yuan, decrying Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) efforts to pass three major bills that they said would seriously harm Taiwan’s democracy, and called to oust KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁). It was the second night of the three-day “Bluebird wintertime action” protests in Taipei, with organizers announcing that 8,000 people attended. Organized by Taiwan Citizen Front, the Economic Democracy Union (EDU) and a coalition of civil groups, about 6,000 people began a demonstration in front of KMT party headquarters in Taipei on Wednesday, organizers said. For the third day, the organizers asked people to assemble
Taipei is participating in Osaka’s Festival of Lights this year, with a 3m-tall bubble tea light installation symbolizing Taiwan’s bubble tea culture. The installation is designed as a bubble tea cup and features illustrations of Taipei’s iconic landmarks, such as Taipei 101, the Red House and North Gate, as well as soup dumplings and the matchmaking deity the Old Man Under the Moon (月下老人), affectionately known as Yue Lao (月老). Taipei and Osaka have collaborated closely on tourism and culture since Taipei first participated in the festival in 2018, the Taipei City Department of Information and Tourism said. In February, Osaka represented
POOR IMPLEMENTATION: Teachers welcomed the suspension, saying that the scheme disrupted school schedules, quality of learning and the milk market A policy to offer free milk to all school-age children nationwide is to be suspended next year due to multiple problems arising from implementation of the policy, the Executive Yuan announced yesterday. The policy was designed to increase the calcium intake of school-age children in Taiwan by drinking milk, as more than 80 percent drink less than 240ml per day. The recommended amount is 480ml. It was also implemented to help Taiwanese dairy farmers counter competition from fresh milk produced in New Zealand, which is to be imported to Taiwan tariff-free next year when the Agreement Between New Zealand and
Taiwanese professional baseball should update sports stadiums and boost engagement to enhance fans’ experience, Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) commissioner Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) in an interview on Friday. The league has urged Farglory Group and the Taipei City Government to improve the Taipei Dome’s outdated equipment, including relatively rudimentary television and sound systems, and poor technology, he said. The Tokyo Dome has markedly better television and sound systems, despite being 30 years old, because its managers continually upgraded its equipment, Tsai said. In contrast, the Taipei Dome lacked even a room for referees
RSS