The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported 39 imported COVID-19 infections and no new local cases.
It said that 4.7 million people who are eligible for a COVID-19 booster shot can book an appointment through the national online vaccination booking system from today.
Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥), who is the CECC’s spokesman, said that 10 people among the imported cases tested positive for the virus upon arriving at airports, while 29 tested positive during or at the end of their quarantine.
Photo: CNA
CDC Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞), deputy head of the CECC’s medical response division, provided an update on case No. 21,497, which was reported on Monday.
Thirty-six close contacts of the case, a woman who lives in Keelung and works in Taipei, had been identified for testing, and as of 2pm yesterday, 30 had tested negative, while the other six were still being tested, Lo said.
Five family members who live with her, three colleagues, nine friends who went to a karaoke bar with her seven days before the onset of symptoms on Sunday, and 13 people who were at a hot pot restaurant she visited on Sunday were tested, he said.
As the number of daily local cases has dropped in the past few days, the CECC was asked if it would consider easing hospital visiting restrictions in Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan and Kaohsiung.
Lo said visiting people at hospitals is generally banned in the four cities, but if there are special circumstances, people can apply to visit, which would require a negative test result or vaccination record.
The restriction might be eased when the infection risk is lower, he said.
Chuang said that about 4.74 million people would be eligible for a booster dose from Monday to March 27 — the next round of the national vaccination program.
Bookings for a vaccination appointment on https://1922.gov.tw start at 10am today and are to end at 12pm on Friday, he said.
Those aged 55 or older who are eligible can start booking from 10am today, while those aged 38 to 54 can book from 12pm and those aged 18 to 37 can start from 2pm, he said.
About 985,000 slots for the booster shot would be available, including about 725,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine, 124,000 Pfizer-BioNTech doses, 116,000 Medigen doses and 20,000 AstraZeneca doses, Chuang said.
The booster vaccination rate in Taiwan was 46.92 percent as of Monday, he said.
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