The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday ordered that all hostess clubs and dance halls suspend operations, effective immediately, as it reported one new case of COVID-19 in the nation.
Preventing community transmission is an important part of the nation’s efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19, Deputy Minister of the Interior Chen Tsung-yen (陳宗彥), who is deputy head of the center, said at the center’s daily media briefing in Taipei.
The center also called for cooperation from the local governments of the nation’s 22 cities and counties, saying that it would need their assistance in enforcing the closures.
Photo: Huang Liang-chieh, Taipei Times
The center reported just one new case of COVID-19, while the number of deaths in Taiwan from the novel coronavirus remained at five.
The new case — the nation’s 380th — is a man in his 20s who is a roommate of the nation’s 322nd case, the center said.
He is asymptomatic and went into home isolation on Monday last week, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) said, adding that the man was tested for the virus on Monday.
Health authorities have disinfected the university attended by the 322nd and 380th cases, including dormitories and public areas, said Chen, who heads the center.
The school has adopted distance learning until Friday next week, he added.
Local media reports identified the school as National Taiwan Normal University.
The university yesterday said in a statement that it on Wednesday received a notice from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) of a second confirmed case of COVID-19 at the school.
Following notification of its first confirmed case late on Monday last week, the university said that it immediately took the necessary precautions and disinfected spaces that had been visited by the 322nd case.
The entire campus was disinfected over last week’s four-day Children’s Day and Tomb Sweeping Day long weekend, the university said, adding that the condition of the 322nd case has improved.
The 380th case is not enrolled in courses at other schools, nor are students from other schools enrolled in any of the classes he attended, it said.
The center has been provided with information about the students and teachers the two cases might have been in contact with on campus to cooperate with contact investigations, the university said, adding that it would continue to cooperate with the CDC and the Ministry of Education.
Under the education ministry’s guidelines, in-person classes at a university campus must be suspended for 14 days in the event of two or more confirmed cases of COVID-19.
As it had already begun school-wide distance learning on Monday, the suspension of on-campus classes is to end on Friday next week, the university said.
‘NO SECURITY RISK’: The Railway Bureau reassured the public that the technicians’ activities were limited to technical guidance and did not involve sensitive systems The Railway Bureau yesterday said it had invited eight Chinese technicians to assist with an airport MRT construction project. The bureau issued the confirmation after an Internet user said Chinese nationals had entered the construction zone of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport’s Terminal 3 project. They asked why “individuals from an enemy state” were allowed access to such a major national infrastructure project, which raised serious concerns over Taiwan’s industrial safety, sensitive systems and information security. The bureau’s Northern Region Engineering Branch Office said subcontractor Taiwan Handle Industrial Co (台灣手把工業) of the Taoyuan airport MRT’s “Contract No. CU05 Project A14 Station Civil, MEP &
A US uncrewed surface vessel (USV) encountered multiple Chinese warships during an autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait, US defense company Seasats said in a statement on Wednesday. Seasats announced that a Lightfish USV had completed the first autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait. Over five days, the USV traversed the entire length of the Strait while constantly monitoring surface vessel traffic, the company said. The Lightfish encountered multiple Chinese warships, one of which was a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) Type 056 corvette, it said. The Chinese vessels were operating “well within Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone without transmitting their identity via the
GREATER REACH? Auto parts and wood products would face tariffs of up to 15%, matching those targeting the EU, Japan and South Korea, Vice Premier said The US has announced that preferential tariff treatment for Taiwan’s non-semiconductor Section 232 goods would take effect retroactively from May 1, the Executive Yuan said yesterday. The US government yesterday posted a notice on the Federal Register’s public inspection Web site previewing tariff concessions for Taiwan under a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Taiwan-US investment after two months of negotiations. The MOU signed on Jan. 15 stipulated three major preferential tariff arrangements: a 15 percent “reciprocal” tariff rate for Taiwan without stacking most-favored nation (MFN) rates; preferential Section 232 treatment for semiconductors and related products; and preferential Section 232 treatment for non-semiconductor
The National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology yesterday showcased its locally developed variants of the Vision 60 robotic patrol dog, which it plans to deploy on the nation’s outlying territories in the South China Sea. The variants were produced under the Joint Lab project — created by the institute and domestic companies — and assembled with domestically produced motors, lenses and artificial intelligence (AI) systems alongside licensed tech from the US, Missile and Rocket Systems Research Division deputy director Jen Kuo-kang (任國光) told the media event at a military base in Taipei’s Dazhi (大直) area. Taiwan has built up its strengths
RSS