The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday said a policy for reopening national borders to business travelers was being discussed with the Ministry of Economic Affairs and “would be announced soon.”
Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said that the COVID-19 infection rate in Taiwan has increased to about 6 percent, which is about the same as the positivity rate detected among inbound travelers.
The tight border control measures imposed since the COVID-19 pandemic began had aimed to keep the virus out, but as the infection rate has increased, stopping the virus at the border is no longer a main concern, he said.
Photo: Reuters
The main concern that would affect border reopening plans for next month would be healthcare capacity, as healthcare providers are still under pressure due to the local outbreak, he said.
However, for the first time since last month, the number of COVID-19 cases discharged from hospitals exceeded the number of COVID-19 cases admitted to hospitals on Friday, Chen said, adding that it is like “seeing the light at the end of the tunnel” regarding the reopening of national borders.
As many countries are reopening to restore economic stability, and Taiwan has lost out on many international investment and business opportunities during the pandemic, the policy for reopening to business travelers would be announced soon, he said.
Photo: CNA
Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Director-General Chou Jih-haw (周志浩), head of the CECC’s disease surveillance division, said 80,835 local cases, 46 imported cases and 127 deaths were confirmed yesterday.
Chen said 10,066 courses of the oral antiviral Paxlovid and 1,351 courses of molnupiravir were prescribed on Friday, a significant increase from previous days.
Based on Friday’s daily case count, approximately 14 percent of confirmed cases have received oral antiviral drugs, he said.
Addressing concerns that Taiwan does not have enough antivirals to treat people with COVID-19, Chen said 59,797 courses of Paxlovid have been prescribed, 657,393 have been stockpiled and 2,810 have yet to be delivered, while 14,611 courses of molnupiravir have been prescribed, 91,229 have been stockpiled and a new contract has been signed to procure 201,600 courses.
If about 15 percent of cases are eligible for antivirals, the procured drugs would cover another 5 million confirmed cases, he said.
CDC Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞), deputy head of the CECC’s medical response division, said that 4,439 moderate or severe cases, including 1,058 deaths, have been reported so far this year.
As of Friday, the rate of severe cases had increased to about 0.08 percent, he said.
Of the 127 deaths confirmed yesterday, 119 people had underlying health conditions, 48 were unvaccinated and 74 people did not receive a booster shot, the center’s data showed.
Two young children died, one of whom was a six-year-old boy who was originally suspected of having encephalitis, but was later found to have a malignant tumor in his cerebellum, Lo said, adding that he died of a brain tumor and neurogenic shock.
The other was a five-year-old boy who had a muscular disease and died of pneumonia and respiratory failure, he said.
Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society of Taiwan chairperson Chiu Nan-chang (邱南昌) said there could be four reasons COVID-19 affects the brain, the main one being a “cytokine storm” induced by the virus, which is a hyperactive immune response that can harm the nervous system and organ tissues.
While the reasons are being studied, the most important things people should look out for in children are early signs of severe illness and encephalitis, he said.
Although the rate of severe cases among children with COVID-19 is low, parents should try to keep their children safe and consider getting them vaccinated if they are five or older, because it is hard to predict how they will react to the disease, Chiu said.
EUROPEAN TARGETS: The planned Munich center would support TSMC’s European customers to design high-performance, energy-efficient chips, an executive said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday said that it plans to launch a new research-and-development (R&D) center in Munich, Germany, next quarter to assist customers with chip design. TSMC Europe president Paul de Bot made the announcement during a technology symposium in Amsterdam on Tuesday, the chipmaker said. The new Munich center would be the firm’s first chip designing center in Europe, it said. The chipmaker has set up a major R&D center at its base of operations in Hsinchu and plans to create a new one in the US to provide services for major US customers,
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications yesterday said that it would redesign the written portion of the driver’s license exam to make it more rigorous. “We hope that the exam can assess drivers’ understanding of traffic rules, particularly those who take the driver’s license test for the first time. In the past, drivers only needed to cram a book of test questions to pass the written exam,” Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱) told a news conference at the Taoyuan Motor Vehicle Office. “In the future, they would not be able to pass the test unless they study traffic regulations
GAINING STEAM: The scheme initially failed to gather much attention, with only 188 cards issued in its first year, but gained popularity amid the COVID-19 pandemic Applications for the Employment Gold Card have increased in the past few years, with the card having been issued to a total of 13,191 people from 101 countries since its introduction in 2018, the National Development Council (NDC) said yesterday. Those who have received the card have included celebrities, such as former NBA star Dwight Howard and Australian-South Korean cheerleader Dahye Lee, the NDC said. The four-in-one Employment Gold Card combines a work permit, resident visa, Alien Resident Certificate (ARC) and re-entry permit. It was first introduced in February 2018 through the Act Governing Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及雇用法),
‘A SURVIVAL QUESTION’: US officials have been urging the opposition KMT and TPP not to block defense spending, especially the special defense budget, an official said The US plans to ramp up weapons sales to Taiwan to a level exceeding US President Donald Trump’s first term as part of an effort to deter China as it intensifies military pressure on the nation, two US officials said on condition of anonymity. If US arms sales do accelerate, it could ease worries about the extent of Trump’s commitment to Taiwan. It would also add new friction to the tense US-China relationship. The officials said they expect US approvals for weapons sales to Taiwan over the next four years to surpass those in Trump’s first term, with one of them saying
RSS