A temporary vaccination center offering the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at Taipei Railway Station would remain in service until Sunday, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday, extending the deadline from today.
The temporary site was opened on Sunday to bolster the nation’s vaccination coverage, allowing eligible recipients to directly get vaccinated on site without an appointment. Vaccine recipients are also offered a NT$100 gift voucher to be spent at Pxmart supermarket outlets.
People formed long lines in the station’s main hall on the first day of the center’s opening, prompting the CECC to deploy more healthcare personnel. Two extra vaccination sites were set up in the main hall on Monday due to high demand.
Photo: CNA
Deputy Minister of the Interior Chen Tsung-yen (陳宗彥), who is deputy head of the CECC, said 2,814 doses were administered at the temporary site on Tuesday and a total of 5,623 doses had been administered since Sunday.
As more people than expected turned out for vaccination, the CECC extended the site’s service period to Sunday, he said, adding that operating hours are from 1pm to 8pm.
All people in Taiwan, regardless of nationality, can get vaccinated if they meet the eligibility criteria, and a small gift would continue to be offered to the recipients, Chen said.
On Monday, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the CECC, said migrant workers who have overstayed their visas would not be turned over to the police when they show up for COVID-19 vaccination, encouraging them to get vaccinated.
However, local media on Tuesday reported that an undocumented migrant worker was asked to turn herself in and pay a fine, and was later arrested by police after going to a public health center in Hsinchu County’s Sinfeng Township (新豐) for vaccination.
Chen Tsung-yen yesterday said medical personnel at the Hsinchu site might have misunderstood the policy, so the CECC on Tuesday evening sent an emergency reminder to all related agencies.
The CECC has launched a special program for undocumented foreign nationals in Taiwan to get vaccinated, promising that those who have overstayed their visas would not be reported, investigated, fined or barred from re-entry when they visit a health center to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, he said.
Foreign nationals who overstay their visas are generally barred from re-entering Taiwan for a period after leaving the nation.
A similar program was launched for undocumented foreign nationals to get tested for COVID-19 amid a local outbreak earlier this year, he said, adding that more than 7,000 overstayers got tested at the time, but they were not detained or punished.
A temporary identification number would be given to undocumented foreign nationals who have no identity documents, by either the National Immigration Agency, the healthcare facility or non-governmental organizations that work with migrant workers, when they get vaccinated, Chen Tsung-yen said, adding that the number would only be used to keep a record of vaccination.
Undocumented foreign nationals who have identity documents, whether expired or not, can make a vaccination appointment or visit a drop-in vaccination site to receive a shot directly, he said.
The CECC called on the more than 83,000 overstayers in Taiwan to get vaccinated without fear of punishment and urged employers of undocumented foreign nationals to help convey the message to their employees.
More than half of the bamboo vipers captured in Tainan in the past few years were found in the city’s Sinhua District (新化), while other districts had smaller catches or none at all. Every year, Tainan captures about 6,000 snakes which have made their way into people’s homes. Of the six major venomous snakes in Taiwan, the cobra, the many-banded krait, the brown-spotted pit viper and the bamboo viper are the most frequently captured. The high concentration of bamboo vipers captured in Sinhua District is puzzling. Tainan Agriculture Bureau Forestry and Nature Conservation Division head Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) earlier this week said that the
NAMING SPAT: The foreign ministry called on Denmark to propose an acceptable solution to the erroneous nationality used for Taiwanese on residence permits Taiwan has revoked some privileges for Danish diplomatic staff over a Danish permit that lists “Taiwan” as “China,” Eric Huang (黃鈞耀), head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Department of European Affairs, told a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Reporters asked Huang whether the Danish government had responded to the ministry’s request that it correct the nationality on Danish residence permits of Taiwanese, which has been listed as “China” since 2024. Taiwan’s representative office in Denmark continues to communicate with the Danish government, and the ministry has revoked some privileges previously granted to Danish representatives in Taiwan and would continue to review
The first bluefin tuna of the season, brought to shore in Pingtung County and weighing 190kg, was yesterday auctioned for NT$10,600 (US$333.5) per kilogram, setting a record high for the local market. The auction was held at the fish market in Donggang Fishing Harbor, where the Siaoliouciou Island-registered fishing vessel Fu Yu Ching No. 2 delivered the “Pingtung First Tuna” it had caught for bidding. Bidding was intense, and the tuna was ultimately jointly purchased by a local restaurant and a local company for NT$10,600 per kilogram — NT$300 ,more than last year — for a total of NT$2.014 million. The 67-year-old skipper
China has reserved offshore airspace over the Yellow Sea and East China Sea from March 27 to May 6, issuing alerts that are usually used to warn of military exercises, although no such exercises have been announced, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Sunday. Reserving such a large area for 40 days without explanation is an “unusual step,” as military exercises normally only last a few days, the paper said. The alerts, known as notice to air missions (NOTAMs), “are intended to inform pilots and aviation authorities of temporary airspace hazards or restrictions,” the article said. The airspace reserved in the alert
RSS