The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday thanked the US for donating another 1.5 million doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, while announcing new rules that would allow inbound travelers to spend the first day 10 days of their 14-day quarantine period at a centralized facility or hotel and the remaining four days at home.
Together with the 2.5 million doses that arrived in June, the US has donated a total of 4 million doses of the Moderna vaccine to Taiwan, Deputy Minister of the Interior Chen Tsung-yen (陳宗彥), the deputy head of the center, told a daily news briefing.
American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Sandra Oudkirk, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the CECC, and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Harry Tseng (曾厚仁) were at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport to welcome the arrival of the vaccines at 1:43pm.
Photo: CNA
“These donations reflect our commitment to Taiwan, a vibrant democracy, valued partner and trusted friend.” Oudkirk said at the airport. “Partners support each other, especially under tough circumstances, and our support for Taiwan, through vaccines or otherwise, is rock solid.”
“The United States and Taiwan are proving what we can do when we collaborate to address shared challenges,” she said, adding that the vaccine delivery is another great example of the AIT’s and Taiwan’s close friendship as “real friends, real progress.”
Chen Shih-chung said that when a local COVID-19 outbreak occurred in May, the US government quickly donated 2.5 million doses of vaccines on June 20, allowing Taiwan to start its vaccination program when it lacked critical supplies.
Photo: CNA
The latest delivery can be used to vaccinate people waiting for their second dose of the Moderna vaccine, as a first dose for some “Moderna-only fans” or even included in a mix-and-match regimen, he said, adding that Taiwan is very grateful to US President Joe Biden’s administration for being a “real friend.”
The CECC yesterday reported five imported cases of COVID-19, but no local infections or deaths.
The five arrived from Indonesia, Myanmar, Nepal and Ukraine, Chen Tsung-yen said.
As many Taiwanese are expected to return to the country during the Lunar New Year holiday in January next year, the CECC and other government agencies have discussed the issue and made preparations, he said.
The Lunar New Year holiday quarantine measures are to be implemented from Dec. 14 to Feb. 14 next year, he said.
“First of all, the mandatory 14-day quarantine followed by seven days of self-health management for inbound travelers will remain in place,” he said.
Inbound travelers who have traveled to “key high-infection risk countries” 14 days prior to arriving in Taiwan will have to stay in a centralized quarantine facility for 14 days, he said.
Countries on this list include India, Myanmar and the UK, he said, adding that the list would be modified depending on COVID-19 developments worldwide.
As for inbound travelers arriving from other countries, they will still be required to stay in a quarantine hotel or self-paid centralized quarantine facility for the first 10 days of quarantine, and an additional polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test would be required on the ninth or 10th day of quarantine, he said.
If they tested negative, they could choose to spend the remaining four days of quarantine at home, he said.
They have to take a disease prevention taxi or vehicle to return home and must follow the rule of “only one person per household,” or “one person per room” if all household members have been fully vaccinated, he added.
Family members or coresidents who arrived in Taiwan together on the same day would also be allowed to stay in the same hotel room during quarantine, he added.
As inbound travelers are subject to three PCR tests during quarantine — upon arrival, on the ninth or 10th day and upon ending it — they do not need to take a COVID-19 rapid test at home before ending self-health management, he said.
The CIA has a message for Chinese government officials worried about their place in Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) government: Come work with us. The agency released two Mandarin-language videos on social media on Thursday inviting disgruntled officials to contact the CIA. The recruitment videos posted on YouTube and X racked up more than 5 million views combined in their first day. The outreach comes as CIA Director John Ratcliffe has vowed to boost the agency’s use of intelligence from human sources and its focus on China, which has recently targeted US officials with its own espionage operations. The videos are “aimed at
STEADFAST FRIEND: The bills encourage increased Taiwan-US engagement and address China’s distortion of UN Resolution 2758 to isolate Taiwan internationally The Presidential Office yesterday thanked the US House of Representatives for unanimously passing two Taiwan-related bills highlighting its solid support for Taiwan’s democracy and global participation, and for deepening bilateral relations. One of the bills, the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, requires the US Department of State to periodically review its guidelines for engagement with Taiwan, and report to the US Congress on the guidelines and plans to lift self-imposed limitations on US-Taiwan engagement. The other bill is the Taiwan International Solidarity Act, which clarifies that UN Resolution 2758 does not address the issue of the representation of Taiwan or its people in
US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo on Friday expressed concern over the rate at which China is diversifying its military exercises, the Financial Times (FT) reported on Saturday. “The rates of change on the depth and breadth of their exercises is the one non-linear effect that I’ve seen in the last year that wakes me up at night or keeps me up at night,” Paparo was quoted by FT as saying while attending the annual Sedona Forum at the McCain Institute in Arizona. Paparo also expressed concern over the speed with which China was expanding its military. While the US
SHIFT: Taiwan’s better-than-expected first-quarter GDP and signs of weakness in the US have driven global capital back to emerging markets, the central bank head said The central bank yesterday blamed market speculation for the steep rise in the local currency, and urged exporters and financial institutions to stay calm and stop panic sell-offs to avoid hurting their own profitability. The nation’s top monetary policymaker said that it would step in, if necessary, to maintain order and stability in the foreign exchange market. The remarks came as the NT dollar yesterday closed up NT$0.919 to NT$30.145 against the US dollar in Taipei trading, after rising as high as NT$29.59 in intraday trading. The local currency has surged 5.85 percent against the greenback over the past two sessions, central
RSS