Starting today, people can eat and drink in most areas inside airports, ports and bus terminals, while Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp (THSRC) will from Nov. 8 begin selling tickets for non-reserved seats, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said at its daily news briefing yesterday.
Eating and drinking were banned in all public transportation facilities when a domestic COVID-19 outbreak began in the middle of May. When the nationwide COVID-19 alert was lowered to level 2 on July 27, restaurants in Taiwan Railways Administration and THSRC stations were partially reopened.
Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kwo-tsai (王國材) said that from today, the ban on eating and drinking is to be conditionally lifted for airports, ports and bus terminals.
Photo: CNA
Eating and drinking are to be allowed in the waiting areas of bus terminals, Wang said, adding that eating and drinking at ports and airports would be allowed in the departure areas, including departure halls, pre-departure waiting areas and restaurants in those areas.
Restaurants are required to follow COVID-19 safety guidelines, and people should maintain social distancing from strangers, or use dividers when eating and drinking in these areas, he said.
As the CECC is maintaining its strict border controls, eating and drinking are to remain prohibited in the arrival areas of airports and ports, he added.
Aside from selling non-reserved seats from Nov. 8, THSRC will increase the weekly number of trains from 899 to 1,016, Wang said.
Addressing concerns that non-reserved carriages might become overcrowded, Wang said that while normally there are three carriages of non-reserved seats — the 10th to 12th carriages — on high-speed trains, THSRC would increase the number of carriages during rush hour and could also increase the number of trains to meet increased demand.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-Wong tomorrow, which it said would possibly make landfall near central Taiwan. As of 2am yesterday, Fung-Wong was about 1,760km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving west-northwest at 26kph. It is forecast to reach Luzon in the northern Philippines by tomorrow, the CWA said. After entering the South China Sea, Typhoon Fung-Wong is likely to turn northward toward Taiwan, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said, adding that it would likely make landfall near central Taiwan. The CWA expects to issue a land
Taiwan’s exports soared to an all-time high of US$61.8 billion last month, surging 49.7 percent from a year earlier, as the global frenzy for artificial intelligence (AI) applications and new consumer electronics powered shipments of high-tech goods, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. It was the first time exports had exceeded the US$60 billion mark, fueled by the global boom in AI development that has significantly boosted Taiwanese companies across the international supply chain, Department of Statistics Director-General Beatrice Tsai (蔡美娜) told a media briefing. “There is a consensus among major AI players that the upcycle is still in its early stage,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it is expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong this afternoon and a land warning tomorrow. As of 1pm, the storm was about 1,070km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, and was moving west-northwest at 28 to 32kph, according to CWA data. The storm had a radius of 250km, with maximum sustained winds of 173kph and gusts reaching 209kph, the CWA added. The storm is forecast to pass near Luzon in the Philippines before entering the South China Sea and potentially turning northward toward Taiwan, the CWA said. CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi yesterday said that China using armed force against Taiwan could constitute a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan, allowing the country to mobilize the Japanese armed forces under its security laws. Takaichi made the remarks during a parliamentary session while responding to a question about whether a "Taiwan contingency" involving a Chinese naval blockade would qualify as a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan, according to a report by Japan’s Asahi Shimbun. "If warships are used and other armed actions are involved, I believe this could constitute a survival-threatening situation," Takaichi was quoted as saying in the report. Under Japan’s security legislation,
RSS