The government’s travel notice for South Korea has been raised to a level 3 “warning” — avoid all nonessential travel — due to a jump in the number of COVID-19 cases there, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday, adding that two more cases have been confirmed in Taiwan.
The community spread of the virus in South Korea has been shown by the rapid increase in confirmed cases in the past few days, which totaled 763 yesterday, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) said.
“As the risk of infection is elevated in the country, the center decided to raise the travel notice to level 3,” said Chen, who serves as the center’s head. “We recommend people avoid all nonessential travel.”
Photo: Ritchie B. Tongo / EPA-EFE
As of 12am today, all foreign nationals arriving in Taiwan from South Korea would be placed under a 14-day mandatory home quarantine, he said.
Taiwanese passengers arriving today and tomorrow would be asked to implement a 14-day self-health management period, but as of 12am on Thursday, everyone arriving from South Korea would be put under a 14-day quarantine, he said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued an “orange” warning on travel to South Korea, advising people to avoid unnecessary travel to the nation, but issued the highest “red” warning on travel to Daegu, Gyeongsang-bukdo and Cheongdo-gun, where the South Korean government has declared special management zones, Chen said.
When asked if similar border controls would be imposed on passengers arriving from Japan, Chen said Japan is “on the edge of” being listed at a higher warning level.
The number of confirmed cases in Japan is relatively high, with locations spread across the nation, including Okinawa and Hokkaido, he said.
“The CECC is closely observing and discussing the COVID-19 epidemic situations in Japan, Singapore, Thailand, Italy and Iran, and we will make proper decisions if the outbreaks in these areas become worse,” he said.
The two new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Taiwan, the 29th and 30th, are family members of the two cases announced on Sunday — an octogenarian father and one of his sons, who is in his 50s — the younger son and older man’s wife, he said, adding that a contact investigation into the family cluster infection is under way.
Chen confirmed that a Taiwanese hemophiliac, who had been stranded in Wuhan, China, with his mother since that city was locked down on Jan. 23, was to return to Taiwan on a flight from Chengdu last night.
The teen’s doctor had assessed his condition through telemedicine and a nurse had been deployed to Chengdu to help them take proper protective measures before and during the flight, Chen said.
The pair would be separated from other passengers during the flight, and be taken to an isolation ward in a hospital after being tested for COVID-19 upon arrival, he said.
If they test negative twice, they would be moved to a quarantine station for a 14-day stay, he added.
The teen’s case had required special medical consideration and protective measures, he said, adding that Taiwanese stranded in Wuhan must return home on charter flights and undergo a quarantine period after arrival.
GET TO SAFETY: Authorities were scrambling to evacuate nearly 700 people in Hualien County to prepare for overflow from a natural dam formed by a previous typhoon Typhoon Podul yesterday intensified and accelerated as it neared Taiwan, with the impact expected to be felt overnight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, while the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration announced that schools and government offices in most areas of southern and eastern Taiwan would be closed today. The affected regions are Tainan, Kaohsiung and Chiayi City, and Yunlin, Chiayi, Pingtung, Hualien and Taitung counties, as well as the outlying Penghu County. As of 10pm last night, the storm was about 370km east-southeast of Taitung County, moving west-northwest at 27kph, CWA data showed. With a radius of 120km, Podul is carrying maximum sustained
Tropical Storm Podul strengthened into a typhoon at 8pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with a sea warning to be issued late last night or early this morning. As of 8pm, the typhoon was 1,020km east of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving west at 23kph. The storm carried maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts reaching 155kph, the CWA said. Based on the tropical storm’s trajectory, a land warning could be issued any time from midday today, it added. CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said Podul is a fast-moving storm that is forecast to bring its heaviest rainfall and strongest
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday criticized the nuclear energy referendum scheduled for Saturday next week, saying that holding the plebiscite before the government can conduct safety evaluations is a denial of the public’s right to make informed decisions. Lai, who is also the chairman of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), made the comments at the party’s Central Standing Committee meeting at its headquarters in Taipei. ‘NO’ “I will go to the ballot box on Saturday next week to cast a ‘no’ vote, as we all should do,” he said as he called on the public to reject the proposition to reactivate the decommissioned
TALKS CONTINUE: Although an agreement has not been reached with Washington, lowering the tariff from 32 percent to 20 percent is still progress, the vice premier said Taiwan would strive for a better US tariff rate in negotiations, with the goal being not just lowering the current 20-percent tariff rate, but also securing an exemption from tariff stacking, Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君) said yesterday. Cheng made the remarks at a news conference at the Executive Yuan explaining the new US tariffs and the government’s plans for supporting affected industries. US President Donald Trump on July 31 announced a new tariff rate of 20 percent on Taiwan’s exports to the US starting on Thursday last week, and the Office of Trade Negotiations on Friday confirmed that it
RSS