The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported one new imported case of COVID-19.
Case No. 570 is a Taiwanese woman in her 20s who on Monday returned from the Czech Republic, said Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥), who is also the CECC’s spokesman.
She had traveled to the Czech Republic in the middle of September to study, he said.
The woman has a history of allergic rhinitis, commonly known as hay fever, and on Oct. 10, developed a fever and abnormal sense of taste, he said.
She did not seek medical attention at the time, he said, adding that her symptoms improved after about 10 days.
Upon arriving in Taiwan, she had a runny nose and phlegm, he said.
She thought those symptoms were related to allergic rhinitis, and because her symptoms in the Czech Republic happened more than 14 days before, she did not report any symptoms upon entry, he said.
The following day, while staying at a quarantine hotel, she told authorities that she had had a fever and abnormal sense of taste while in the Czech Republic, he said.
Subsequently, health authorities arranged for her to be tested for COVID-19, he said.
The woman took a flight operated by a foreign airline, Chuang said, adding that contract tracing is still in progress.
Among the nation’s confirmed cases, 39 remained hospitalized as of yesterday, data from the CECC showed.
In related news, the Council of Agriculture said that it would offer a subsidy of up to NT$15,000 per migrant worker in the agricultural industry to help cover the costs of quarantine hotels.
If an employer hires a foreign agricultural worker, and during their stay at a quarantine hotel, they follow disease-prevention regulations, the council would subsidize 50 percent of the accommodation costs, with a maximum subsidy of NT$15,000 per worker, the council said.
Chen Chun-yen (陳俊言), head of the council’s Department of Farmers’ Service, said that the subsidy program is limited to foreigners who received a quarantine notice from health authorities, and stayed at a legally registered quarantine hotel after entry.
The maximum subsidy amount was based on council investigations that showed that staying at a quarantine hotel would add more than NT$20,000 to each worker’s expenses.
Employers can submit applications for the subsidy, along with relevant documents, within three months from the day after the end of the foreign worker’s quarantine, the council said.
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the number of foreign workers entering the nation to work in the agricultural industry, Chen said, adding that so far, only about 100 such workers have arrived in Taiwan.
The council set up the subsidy after farmers raised the issue during discussions, Chen said.
It hopes the program would help to solve the needs of farmers, and speed up the arrival of migrant workers to assist with domestic agricultural work, he said.
The manufacture of the remaining 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks Taiwan purchased from the US has recently been completed, and they are expected to be delivered within the next one to two months, a source said yesterday. The Ministry of National Defense is arranging cargo ships to transport the tanks to Taiwan as soon as possible, said the source, who is familiar with the matter. The estimated arrival time ranges from late this month to early next month, the source said. The 28 Abrams tanks make up the third and final batch of a total of 108 tanks, valued at about NT$40.5 billion
Travel agencies in Taiwan are working to secure alternative flights for travelers bound for New Zealand for the Lunar New Year holiday, as Air New Zealand workers are set to strike next week. The airline said that it has confirmed that the planned industrial action by its international wide-body cabin crew would go ahead on Thursday and Friday next week. While the Auckland-based carrier pledged to take reasonable measures to mitigate the impact of the workers’ strike, an Air New Zealand flight arriving at Taipei from Auckland on Thursday and another flight departing from Taipei for Auckland on Saturday would have to
A group from the Taiwanese Designers in Australia association yesterday represented Taiwan at the Midsumma Pride March in Melbourne. The march, held in the St. Kilda suburb, is the city’s largest LGBTQIA+ parade and the flagship event of the annual Midsumma Festival. It attracted more than 45,000 spectators who supported the 400 groups and 10,000 marchers that participated this year, the association said. Taiwanese Designers said they organized a team to march for Taiwan this year, joining politicians, government agencies, professionals and community organizations in showing support for LGBTQIA+ people and diverse communities. As the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex
MOTIVES QUESTIONED The PLA considers Xi’s policies toward Taiwan to be driven by personal considerations rather than military assessment, the Epoch Times reports Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) latest purge of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) leadership might have been prompted by the military’s opposition to plans of invading Taiwan, the Epoch Times said. The Chinese military opposes waging war against Taiwan by a large consensus, putting it at odds with Xi’s vision, the Falun Gong-affiliated daily said in a report on Thursday, citing anonymous sources with insight into the PLA’s inner workings. The opposition is not the opinion of a few generals, but a widely shared view among the PLA cadre, the Epoch Times cited them as saying. “Chinese forces know full well that
RSS