People working in sectors supervised by the education, economics, labor, and health and welfare ministries must be fully vaccinated by next month, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday.
“Starting from Jan. 1, vaccination rules for workers at industries supervised by the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Ministry of Labor, and the Ministry of Health and Welfare will be further enhanced,” said Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥), who is the CECC’s spokesman.
New employees and those returning to work must provide a negative COVID-19 test result — an antigen rapid test, at-home rapid test or polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test — taken three days before the first day of work, he said.
Photo courtesy of Centers for Disease Control
People who have recovered from COVID-19 and have a “Notice for Release From Isolation Treatment” issued by a local health department within the past three months would not need to provide a vaccination record, Chuang said.
However, they would still need to provide a negative PCR test result taken within three days of starting work and receive a COVID-19 vaccine as soon as possible, he added.
People with a COVID-19 vaccine exemption certificate issued by a doctor must provide a negative PCR test result obtained within three days of starting work, and also take an antigen rapid test, at-home rapid test or PCR test every week, Chuang said.
“As the policy takes effect in January, we urge the workers to receive their second dose before December 17,” he said.
Establishments supervised by the education ministry include: preschools and schools up to the senior-high school level, afterschool childcare centers, community colleges, cram schools, senior citizens’ learning centers, competitive and recreational sports facilities, swimming pools and performing arts rehearsal venues.
Businesses overseen by the economics ministry include: video recording and broadcasting venues, electronic game arcades, Internet cafes, karaoke halls, KTVs, tabletop gaming centers, mahjong clubs, discos, hostess bars, nightclubs, pubs, video stores, hostess teahouses, saunas, wedding or banquet halls, beauty salons, convention halls and exhibition venues.
Vocational training facilities are the only establishments overseen by the labor ministry that would be affected by the policy.
Establishments supervised by the health ministry are infant care centers, community care facilities, dementia community service stations, parent-child centers, childcare resource centers and folk therapy businesses.
The policy also covers community healthcare and welfare events.
The CECC said it has set up a vaccination station at Taipei Main Station where Moderna Inc’s COVID-19 vaccine would be offered to eligible recipients through Thursday.
The vaccination station, in the west corridor of Taipei Main Station’s main hall, is open from 1pm to 8pm, Chuang said, adding that the service is open to Taiwanese and foreigners.
Eligibility covers people 18 or older, those who have received a first dose of the Moderna vaccine at least four weeks earlier, and people who received a first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine at least eight weeks earlier, he said.
People who are vaccinated at the station would receive a NT$100 voucher that they can use at Pxmart Co (全聯福利中心) supermarket outlets, the CECC said.
The CECC yesterday also reported four imported cases of COVID-19: travelers from Indonesia, Laos, Vietnam and the US.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique