As universities and colleges are to begin their new semesters tomorrow, the Ministry of Education (MOE) has ordered schools to follow four key preventive measures against COVID-19.
In a notification sent to schools on Wednesday, the ministry said that students’ temperatures should be checked, campuses disinfected and ventilation improved, while response to confirmed or suspected COVID-19 cases must be quick.
Unlike primary and secondary schools, college campuses are open to more students with varying class schedules, posing a great challenge to temperature monitoring, it said, advising schools to limit the number of entrances to campuses, dormitories and restaurants, and arrange personnel to work shifts monitoring temperatures at certain checkpoints.
Photo provided by the National Taiwan University of Science and Technology
People should be asked to return home or visit a doctor when they develop a fever — 38°C when taken from the ear or 37.5°C when taken from the forehead — or when they have respiratory symptoms, the ministry said.
Students who are boarding and have unusual temperatures should stay in single rooms, and their school should report their condition, it added.
Given the nation’s diverse campus settings, universities have adopted different temperature measurement policies.
For example, National Taiwan University would be testing visitors’ temperatures at the entrances of each building or department, given that its campus is extensive; Soochow University plans to have four checkpoints for measuring temperatures; and Fu Jen Catholic University would be marking healthy people with a stamp on the back of their hands.
The ministry has also advised schools to disinfect frequently used items, such as doorknobs, buttons, electrical appliance switches, and classroom desks and chairs, in the morning and afternoon each day.
Schools should also avoid using air-conditioners, improve ventilation and keep indoor carbon dioxide concentration levels — a barometer for ventilation — to less than 1,000 parts per million, it said.
If faculty find confirmed or suspected COVID-19 cases, they should report to their schools’ security and health agencies as soon as possible and help with the disease investigation, it added.
The ministry also asked schools to prepare dormitory space for quarantine.
Meanwhile, nine universities with affiliated medical centers have been appointed as regional centers for disease control and consultation, the ministry said.
The nine schools are Fu Jen, Taipei Medical University, Chang Gung University and National Yang-Ming University in the north; Asia University and China Medical University in central Taiwan; National Cheng Kung University and Kaohsiung Medical University in the south; and Tzu Chi University in the east, it said.
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
LIKE-MINDED COUNTRIES: Despite the threats from outside, Taiwan and Lithuania thrived and developed their economies, former president Tsai Ing-wen said Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Saturday thanked Lithuania for its support of Taiwan, saying that both countries are united as partners in defending democracy. Speaking at a reception organized by the Lithuania-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group welcoming her on her first visit to the Baltic state, Tsai said that while she was president from 2016 to last year, many Lithuanian “friends” visited Taiwan. “And I told myself I have to be here. I am very happy that I am here, a wonderful country and wonderful people,” Tsai said. Taiwan and Lithuania are in similar situations as both are neighbors to authoritarian countries, she
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
Taiwanese indie band Sunset Rollercoaster and South Korean outfit Hyukoh collectively received the most nominations at this year’s Golden Melody Awards, earning a total of seven nods from the jury on Wednesday. The bands collaborated on their 2024 album AAA, which received nominations for best band, best album producer, best album design and best vocal album recording. “Young Man,” a single from the album, earned nominations for song of the year and best music video, while another track, “Antenna,” also received a best music video nomination. Late Hong Kong-American singer Khalil Fong (方大同) was named the jury award winner for his 2024 album