Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Lai Hsiang-ling (賴香伶) yesterday urged the government to relax COVID-19 restrictions for the supplementary education and after-school care sectors, and to vaccinate workers in those industries before schools reopen in September.
Starting today, the Central Epidemic Command Center is to ease some COVID-19 restrictions on a conditional basis, although the nation remains under a level 3 COVID-19 alert through July 26.
At an online news conference, Lai said many supplementary education facilities are asking why gyms and movie theaters are being allowed to reopen, while they were not included in plans to ease restrictions.
Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times
Lo Ching-wei (羅靖為), a working parent in Hsinchu, said that since schools moved to online learning in May, his two children, who are enrolled in grades five and eight, have spent long periods of time on electronic devices.
Such extended use of electronic devices is harmful for their concentration and eyes, he said.
Amid high temperatures, families are also struggling with the cost of electricity, specifically for air-conditioning, he said.
As family members spend more time at home, there has also been friction among them, he said.
Lin Shuo-yan (林碩彥), another working parent in Hsinchu, said it was contradictory for the government to relax restrictions for some businesses, but not for kindergartens and other educational facilities.
“As parents, we must place importance on children’s right to education,” he said.
The suspension of in-person classes, which has been imposed for more than a month, has affected students’ lifestyles and habits, he said, adding that parents are worried about how children can readjust to school.
After-school education facilities take students’ temperatures and disinfect their premises on a daily basis, After School Educational Association representative Hsieh Chih-fang (謝智芳) said.
They can implement disease prevention measures, including maintaining a distance of 1.5m between students and setting up dividers, he said.
Unlike night markets and other places for whom restrictions have been relaxed, after-school education facilities have fixed clients, he said.
The government has reopened businesses that should remain closed, and kept closed businesses that should be reopened, he added.
If the nationwide level 3 alert is lowered after July 27, there would be no reason to keep cram schools closed, he said.
He urged the government to finish vaccinating cram school teachers against COVID-19 before the end of this month so that they can resume classes.
Summertime is peak season for cram schools, he said, adding that many elementary and junior-high school students are sent to cram schools during summer break.
Workers at supplementary education and after-school care facilities should be vaccinated as soon as possible, as students would also be returning to those facilities if schools reopen in September, Lai said.
Eight restaurants in Taiwan yesterday secured a one-star rating from the Michelin Guide Taiwan for the first time, while three one-star restaurants from last year’s edition were promoted to two stars. Forty-three restaurants were awarded one star this year, including 34 in Taipei, five in Taichung and four in Kaohsiung. Hosu (好嶼), Chuan Ya (川雅), Sushi Kajin (鮨嘉仁), aMaze (心宴), La Vie by Thomas Buhner, Yuan Yi (元一) and Frassi in Taipei and Front House (方蒔) in Kaohsiung received a one-star rating for the first time. Hosu is known for innovative Taiwanese dishes, while Chuan Ya serves Sichuan cuisine and aMaze specializes
STATS: Taiwan’s average life expectancy of 80.77 years was lower than that of Japan, Singapore and South Korea, but higher than in China, Malaysia and Indonesia Taiwan’s average life expectancy last year increased to 80.77 years, but was still not back to its pre-COVID-19 pandemic peak of 81.32 years in 2020, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. The average life expectancy last year increased the 0.54 years from 2023, the ministry said in a statement. For men and women, the average life expectancy last year was 77.42 years and 84.30 years respectively, up 0.48 years and 0.56 years from the previous year. Taiwan’s average life expectancy peaked at 81.32 years in 2020, as the nation was relatively unaffected by the pandemic that year. The metric
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck Chiayi County at 4:37pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 36.3km southeast of Chiayi County Hall at a depth of 10.4km, CWA data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Chiayi County, Tainan and Kaohsiung on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Pingtung, Taitung, Hualien, Changhua, Nantou and Penghu counties, the data
RSS