The WHO has warned that the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 might reinfect people who had recovered from COVID-19, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday.
The CECC on Friday announced that effective tomorrow, travelers from southern Africa, where the variant was first detected — South Africa, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia and Zimbabwe — would need to quarantine for 14 days in a centralized facility after arriving in Taiwan.
The move followed similar requirements other countries imposed on travelers from those states.
Photo: Annabelle Chih, REUTERS
Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥), who is the CECC’s spokesman, yesterday said that preliminary evidence suggests that the Omicron variant increases the risk of reinfection.
WHO experts are evaluating the transmissibility and severity of the variant, which appears to be spreading fast in southern Africa, as well as the effectiveness of preventive measures, diagnostics, vaccines and therapeutics, he said.
As it would take some time to assess potential effects, the WHO has asked countries to enhance surveillance and sequencing efforts to better understand circulating variants, he said.
The global health body also asked countries to submit genome sequences and associated metadata to public databases, such as GISAID, and report cases involving the new variant through its International Health Regulations mechanism, he said.
It has further urged countries to conduct field investigations and laboratory assessments so that potential effects of the new variant can be better understood, he said.
The information of interest includes epidemiology, severity, effectiveness of public health and social measures, immune responses, and other characteristics, he said.
Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the CECC, said that to stop the new variant from entering Taiwan, the center would impose centralized quarantines on arrivals from the six countries, as it regards them as key high-risk states.
The adjustments to border control measures would be made in accordance with the global COVID-19 situation, but have no effect on life in Taiwan, he said, adding that there are no plans to tighten measures during the Lunar New Year holiday as long as there are no local Omicron cases.
Drugmakers Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE have announced that they would update their COVID-19 vaccine with regard to the new variant and produce a new jab within 100 days, Chen said.
If the firms succeed, the CECC would seek to acquire their updated vaccine, Chen said, adding that the process leading to an emergency use authorization would take time.
As of Friday, Taiwan’s first-dose vaccination rate had reached 77.59 percent and its full vaccination rate was 53.3 percent, the CECC said.
Taiwan yesterday reported 12 new imported cases of COVID-19 — eight men and four women who arrived from Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, South Korea and the US.
The CECC said that four of the cases are vaccine breakthrough infections, adding that three of them had received two doses of the Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine, and one had received one dose each of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
REGIONAL STABILITY: Taipei thanked the Biden administration for authorizing its 16th sale of military goods and services to uphold Taiwan’s defense and safety The US Department of State has approved the sale of US$228 million of military goods and services to Taiwan, the US Department of Defense said on Monday. The state department “made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale” to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US for “return, repair and reshipment of spare parts and related equipment,” the defense department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a news release. Taiwan had requested the purchase of items and services which include the “return, repair and reshipment of classified and unclassified spare parts for aircraft and related equipment; US Government
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from