No new COVID-19 cases were reported yesterday, marking the 28th day with no domestic cases reported in the nation, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) said yesterday.
“Today is also Mother’s Day, so we would like to present our record of no domestic cases having been reported in 28 consecutive days as a gift for all mothers, hoping that everyone can feel safer,” said Chen, who heads the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC).
However, people should not let their guard down and should thoroughly practice the “new disease prevention lifestyle” to achieve an even higher level of safety, he said.
Photo: CNA
“Our successful disease prevention performance against COVID-19 is attributed to the efforts of everyone living in Taiwan, as well as cooperation among the central and local governments,” he added.
The number of confirmed cases in Taiwan remains at 440, of whom 366 have been removed from isolation after recovering, Chen said.
With the hard work of healthcare professionals, Taiwan has achieved an 83 percent recovery rate for COVID-19, compared with a global average of 34 percent, he said.
The death rate of COVID-19 in Taiwan is about 0.3 per million population, against a global average of 36 per million population, he added.
Chen also said that people can preorder masks for children aged four or younger through the government’s online platforms or at convenience stores from Monday to Wednesday next week, and pick them up at convenience stores from May 25 to June 7.
The masks’ dimensions are 12.7cm by 8cm, he added.
The masks currently being sold at designated pharmacies, convenience stores, and on the government’s eMask Web site and Express mobile app are for adults and children aged four to eight.
The government on April 23 decided to supply smaller masks in response to complaints from parents nationwide about having difficulty finding masks for younger children.
Parents need to provide the details of their children’s National Health Insurance cards to buy the small masks, the CECC said.
A man surnamed Feng (馮) in New Taipei City has said that the children’s masks currently available are too big for his daughter and cover her entire face, adding that he has had to cut holes in the masks so that she could see when wearing a mask.
Another parent, surnamed Hung (洪), said that he visited 14 pharmacies, but could only find masks for older children, which are as big as adult masks.
Additional reporting by CNA
UKRAINE, NVIDIA: The US leader said the subject of Russia’s war had come up ‘very strongly,’ while Jenson Huang was hoping that the conversation was good Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and US President Donald Trump had differing takes following their meeting in Busan, South Korea, yesterday. Xi said that the two sides should complete follow-up work as soon as possible to deliver tangible results that would provide “peace of mind” to China, the US and the rest of the world, while Trump hailed the “great success” of the talks. The two discussed trade, including a deal to reduce tariffs slapped on China for its role in the fentanyl trade, as well as cooperation in ending the war in Ukraine, among other issues, but they did not mention
CALL FOR SUPPORT: President William Lai called on lawmakers across party lines to ensure the livelihood of Taiwanese and that national security is protected President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday called for bipartisan support for Taiwan’s investment in self-defense capabilities at the christening and launch of two coast guard vessels at CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard in Kaohsiung. The Taipei (台北) is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels, and the Siraya (西拉雅) is the Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) first-ever ocean patrol vessel, the government said. The Taipei is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels with a displacement of about 4,000 tonnes, Lai said. This ship class was ordered as a result of former president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) 2018
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi yesterday lavished US President Donald Trump with praise and vows of a “golden age” of ties on his visit to Tokyo, before inking a deal with Washington aimed at securing critical minerals. Takaichi — Japan’s first female prime minister — pulled out all the stops for Trump in her opening test on the international stage and even announced that she would nominate him for a Nobel Peace Prize, the White House said. Trump has become increasingly focused on the Nobel since his return to power in January and claims to have ended several conflicts around the world,
GLOBAL PROJECT: Underseas cables ‘are the nervous system of democratic connectivity,’ which is under stress, Member of the European Parliament Rihards Kols said The government yesterday launched an initiative to promote global cooperation on improved security of undersea cables, following reported disruptions of such cables near Taiwan and around the world. The Management Initiative on International Undersea Cables aims to “bring together stakeholders, align standards, promote best practices and turn shared concerns into beneficial cooperation,” Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said at a seminar in Taipei. The project would be known as “RISK,” an acronym for risk mitigation, information sharing, systemic reform and knowledge building, he said at the seminar, titled “Taiwan-Europe Subsea Cable Security Cooperation Forum.” Taiwan sits at a vital junction on
RSS