Schools would open for the new semester on Sept. 1 as long as the nation’s COVID-19 alert remains at level 2 over the coming weeks, most local governments said yesterday.
Taipei Deputy Mayor Tsai Ping-kun (蔡炳坤) said that students would be required to wear masks, and must have dividers to separate them when eating.
No outdoor sports would be permitted, in line with the Central Epidemic Command Center’s (CECC) recommendations, he said.
Photo courtesy of the Tainan Bureau of Education
For music classes, teachers would only provide instruction and demonstrations, as students would not be permitted to remove their masks to perform, he added.
If a student is diagnosed with COVID-19, their class would be suspended, Tsai said of the city government’s tentatively planned measures to handle infections, adding that if two were infected, then the school would close.
If one-third of schools within a district are shut down due to COVID-19, all schools within the district would close, he added.
New Taipei City Education Department Commissioner Chang Ming-wen (張明文) said that schools in the city would be open under alert levels 1 and 2, adding that if the alert is raised to level 3, but there are no confirmed cases within a district, then schools in that district would remain open.
School would close for three days if there is one confirmed case reported, and 14 days if there are two COVID-19 cases, he said.
Taichung officials also said that students in the city would begin the new semester on Sept. 1, adding that the city has 93 percent vaccine coverage for its high-school and elementary-school teachers.
Tainan officials said that although they are in principle preparing to open schools on Sept. 1, they would adhere to the CECC’s guidelines for students at high-school level and below.
Additional reporting by Liu Wan-chunand Su Meng-chuan
Nipah virus infection is to be officially listed as a category 5 notifiable infectious disease in Taiwan in March, while clinical treatment guidelines are being formulated, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. With Nipah infections being reported in other countries and considering its relatively high fatality rate, the centers on Jan. 16 announced that it would be listed as a notifiable infectious disease to bolster the nation’s systematic early warning system and increase public awareness, the CDC said. Bangladesh reported four fatal cases last year in separate districts, with three linked to raw date palm sap consumption, CDC Epidemic Intelligence
Two Taiwanese prosecutors were questioned by Chinese security personnel at their hotel during a trip to China’s Henan Province this month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. The officers had personal information on the prosecutors, including “when they were assigned to their posts, their work locations and job titles,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. On top of asking about their agencies and positions, the officers also questioned the prosecutors about the Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement, a pact that serves as the framework for Taiwan-China cooperation on combating crime and providing judicial assistance, Liang
Reports of Taiwanese going missing, being detained or interrogated, or having their personal liberties restricted in China increased about fourfold annually last year, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. Last year, 221 Taiwanese who traveled to China were reported missing, were detained and interrogated, or otherwise had their personal freedom restricted, up from 55 the previous year, the council said. Reopening group tours to China would be risky, as it would leave travelers with no way to seek help through official channels after Beijing shut down dialogue between the associations tasked with handling cross-strait tourism, the MAC said. Taipei’s Taiwan Strait Tourism
SHIFT: Taiwan is evolving from a transit stop into a tourist destination, with more international travelers willing to spend on tours, dining and cultural activities Taiwan rose three places in the World Tourism Barometer to 36th globally in 2024, with international tourism revenue of US$10.028 billion, the Tourism Administration said on Monday. The UN Tourism Organization publication said that its focus has switched from whether a country has returned to pre-COVID-19 levels of tourism to the amount spent by a tourist during an overseas trip. The nation last year welcomed 8.57 million international tourists, about 9 percent more than in 2024, with most tourists coming from Japan, South Korea, and Hong Kong and Macau, all of which accounted for at least 1 million tourists each. During the first
RSS