Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) tested positive for COVID-19 yesterday morning and is to isolate at home for seven days.
Chen had symptoms, including a runny nose, sneezing and muscle soreness yesterday morning, so he performed a rapid COVID-19 test at home, which was positive, said Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥), who is the Central Epidemic Command Center’s (CECC) spokesman.
The minister had a telemedicine consultation with a doctor and was diagnosed with COVID-19, Chuang said, adding that Chen was in good condition yesterday morning.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
Chen’s close contacts include CDC Director-General Chou Jih-haw (周志浩), head of the CECC’s disease surveillance division; CDC Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞), deputy head of the CECC’s medical response division; CECC medical response division deputy head Victor Wang (王必勝); as well as himself, Chuang said.
They all tested negative for COVID-19 in rapid tests yesterday morning and have no symptoms, he added.
Chen’s duties at the center are to be temporarily carried out by the center’s deputy head, Deputy Minister of the Interior Chen Tsung-yen (陳宗彥).
The health minister is to monitor the overall COVID-19 prevention and control situation through telephone calls and videoconferencing, Chuang said.
Presidential Office spokesman Xavier Chang (張惇涵) said the minister has not met with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) in person recently, although they frequently discuss COVID-19 issues over the telephone.
Tsai said that as CECC head, Chen Shih-chung has been working hard with hardly any days off for more than two years, so she hoped the minister could rest well and recover soon, Chang added.
Executive Yuan spokesman Lo Ping-cheng (羅秉成) said that the health minister had attended a meeting at the Executive Yuan on Saturday morning, but there was checkerboard seating, as well as table dividers, and the participants wore masks during the meeting, adding that neither Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) nor the other officials who attended had COVID-19 symptoms.
Additional reporting by CNA
As China waged extensive military exercises off Taiwan, a group of US defense experts in Washington was focused on their own simulation of an eventual — but for now entirely hypothetical — US-China war over the nation. The unofficial what-if game is being conducted on the fifth floor of an office building not far from the White House, and it posits a US military response to a Chinese invasion in 2026. Even though the participants bring a US perspective, they are finding that a US-Taiwan victory, if there is one, could come at a huge cost. “The results are showing that under
WRONG TIMING: The delegation’s trip has not only disappointed Taiwanese, but could send a wrong message to the global community, Tsai Ing-wen said Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Vice Chairman Andrew Hsia (夏立言) yesterday left with a delegation for a trip to China, drawing fire for visiting at a time when Beijing has been conducting intensive military drills to pressure Taiwan. Before boarding, he told reporters that the delegation would be visiting Taiwanese communities and students in China, and possibly meet with Chinese officials. The Mainland Affairs Council on Tuesday night said that it was not the right time for political party members to visit China, as Beijing has been conducting military exercises since Thursday last week. President Tsai Ing- wen (蔡英文), chairperson of the Democratic
ORDNANCE: Under a five-year plan, the Chungshan Institute would make about 200 Hsiung Feng II and III/IIIE, and Hsiung Sheng missiles, an official said The Ministry of National Defense plans to counter the Chinese navy by producing more than 1,000 anti-ship missiles over the next five years, a defense official familiar with the matter said yesterday. The comments came after China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy began a series of military drills in a simulated naval blockade of Taiwan proper following a visit to Taipei by US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Although China has in the past few years rapidly produced many warships and added them to its navy, these large vessels are more suited for warfare on the open sea than in the narrow
The organizers of WorldPride 2025 have canceled the Kaohsiung event because its licensing group, InterPride, demanded that it remove “Taiwan” from the event’s name, they said in a statement yesterday. Kaohsiung was to host WorldPride Taiwan 2025 after being granted the right by the global LGBTQ advocacy group. However, the WorldPride 2025 Taiwan Preparation Committee said that InterPride recently gave “abrupt notice” asking it to change the name of the event and use “Kaohsiung” instead of “Taiwan,” even though it applied for the event using “Taiwan” in its name. The name was initially chosen for its significance to the Taiwanese LGBTQ community, as
RSS