The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported one new imported case of COVID-19, an arrival from the US.
Case No. 687 is a Taiwanese woman in her 30s who works in the US and on Sunday arrived in Taiwan to visit relatives, Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥), who is the CECC’s spokesman, told a briefing in Taipei.
That day, the woman, who was quarantining at a residence, had throat discomfort, which she reported to authorities, he said.
Health authorities arranged for her to be tested for COVID-19 and admitted to a hospital for treatment, and her test result returned positive yesterday, Chuang said.
Twenty-five people were identified as having had contact with the woman: 14 people seated near her on the flight to Taiwan, as well as the 11 crew members, he added.
The 14 passengers have been placed in home isolation, while the crew members, who had proper protection, have been asked to monitor their health, Chuang said.
Of the nation’s confirmed cases of COVID-19, seven have died, while 107 remain hospitalized or in isolation as of yesterday, center data showed.
The CECC’s autumn-winter COVID-19 prevention program, which began on Tuesday, stipulates that people must wear masks at eight types of public venues considered to have a high risk of infection transmission: healthcare facilities, public transportation, shopping centers, education facilities, sports and exhibition venues, leisure and entertainment venues, places of worship, and offices and businesses.
People who refuse to wear a mask after being asked to do so can be fined NT$3,000 to NT$15,000, the center said.
Yesterday, YouTube Taiwan named a video produced by the CDC on COVID-19 quarantine regulations as its most popular video of this year.
The video short was released on the CDC’s YouTube channel on April 6 and features CDC Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞), who is also a CECC official.
As of yesterday, more than 4.6 million people had viewed the video, which is subtitled in Chinese and Indonesian.
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The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Kaohsiung at 1pm today, the Central Weather Administration said. The epicenter was in Jiasian District (甲仙), 72.1km north-northeast of Kaohsiung City Hall, at a depth of 7.8km, agency data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in Kaohsiung and Tainan, where it measured a 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale. It also measured a 3 in parts of Chiayi City, as well as Pingtung, Yunlin and Hualien counties, data showed.
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
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