Nearly 40 percent of the nation’s imported COVID-19 cases were intercepted at the border, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday, adding that maintaining strict border controls remains an important policy.
The center would only consider reopening the border if the nation’s disease situation remains stable after domestic restrictions have been lifted, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who also heads the center, said at the center’s daily news briefing in Taipei yesterday.
Taiwan on March 19 banned the entry of all foreign nationals, with the exception of Alien Resident Certificate holders, members of diplomatic missions or representative offices, those honoring a business contract, and people granted special permission by Taiwan’s representative office in their home nation.
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
While the Ministry of Education had proposed that the government allow the entry of overseas students from nations deemed to be less at risk of COVID-19, a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday did not reach a conclusion.
The center would not prioritize the entry of overseas students, Chen said when asked about the issue yesterday.
Those visiting on trade or medical missions are prioritized, he said, adding that special permission is still given on a case-by-case basis.
Given that there is still a need for strict border controls to prevent imported cases, the center, which is operating at level 1, would not be downgraded to level 2 or level 3 for the foreseeable future, Chen said.
The center yesterday did not report any additional COVID-19 cases.
The nation has reported 443 cases with seven fatalities — 352 imported cases, 55 local infections and 36 infections originating from the navy’s “Friendship Flotilla” — while 429 patients have been discharged from hospital after treatment, center data showed.
Of the 352 imported cases, 39 percent, or 138 cases, were intercepted at the border, including the nation’s first confirmed case — a businesswoman flying from Wuhan, China, on Jan. 20, said Deputy Minister of the Interior Chen Tsung-yen (陳宗彥), the center’s deputy head.
Since the coronavirus outbreak began, 6,000 people with possible COVID-19 symptoms have undergone testing at airports and ports, while the center has issued nearly 150,000 home quarantine notices, Chen Tsung-yen said.
The Civil Aeronautics Administration and airlines are discussing adjusting the routes within airports to separate tourists transiting in Taiwan from inbound tourists, Chen Tsung-yen said when asked if the center is planning to lift the ban on flight transfers, which was implemented on March 24.
Whether to lift the ban on flight transfers could be discussed when those plans are ready, Chen Shih-chung said.
In a historic first, Taiwanese officials participated in this year’s Riga Strategic Communications Dialogue in Latvia from Wednesday to Friday last week, which debuted a breakout session focused on Taiwan The event organizer, the NATO Strategic Communications Center of Excellence, displayed Taiwan’s national flag and the officials’ formal titles on their Web site. Taiwanese attendees included National Security Council (NSC) Deputy Secretary-General Lin Fei-fan (林飛帆) and deputy head of the Taipei Representative Office in the UK, Chiang Ya-chi (江雅綺). In addition to the session discussing Taiwan titled “Taiwan: Navigating Strategic Communication in a Tense Environment,” the dialogue also included sessions
Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport is to suspend its automated Skytrain service connecting Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 starting on July 1 to facilitate connection works for the upcoming Terminal 3, the airport operator said today. Passengers and staff who need to travel between the two terminals after the suspension can instead use the Taoyuan MRT or the airport's 24-hour shuttle bus service, Taoyuan International Airport Corp said. The Taoyuan MRT Airport Line directly links the two terminals, while the shuttle buses are to operate around the clock, the company added. The Skytrain provides free transportation between the airport’s two terminals for travelers and
Taiwan ranked 42nd in terms of peacefulness among 163 countries, down five places from last year, according to this year’s Global Peace Index. With an overall score of 1.751, Taiwan dropped from 37th last year, the report published by the global Institute for Economics and Peace showed. The overall score measures a country’s level of peacefulness using 23 quantitative and qualitative indicators across three domains — ongoing domestic and international conflict, societal safety and security, and militarization. While Taiwan ranked 42nd worldwide, it was listed in ninth place among the 19 Asian-Pacific countries in the report, after New Zealand, Singapore, Japan, Malaysia,
TOKYO-MANILA DELIMITATION TALKS: Beijing is attempting to use this opportunity to normalize patrols and law enforcement in the waters east of Taiwan, MOFA said China has no law enforcement authority over the waters east of Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday, accusing China of undermining regional peace and stability. The Chinese Ministry of Transport on Saturday evening announced that it had launched a “special maritime law enforcement operation” in the waters east of Taiwan, dispatching coast guard vessels to engage in illegal enforcement activities, the ministry said. State-run Xinhua news agency said the operation was “a necessary action taken in response to Japan and the Philippines unilaterally announcing the initiation of maritime boundary delimitation negotiations in the waters east of China’s Taiwan island,
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