Visits to nursing home residents and patients at medical facilities have been restricted in six high-risk COVID-19 areas due to the rapid spread of the disease, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) said yesterday.
The restrictions were introduced in Keelung, Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Kaohsiung and Hualien County, effective immediately, to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in hospitals and nursing homes, Chen told the center’s daily briefing in Taipei.
The six areas have been designated as areas at high risk for COVID-19 because they have had more new domestic COVID-19 cases than other areas since the start of this month, when single-day case numbers rose above 100 for the first time this year, said Chen, who heads the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC).
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
Under the new restrictions, general visits are banned in high-risk areas, except special situations, including when a visit is deemed necessary by medical institutions or nursing homes, he said.
The exceptions include when the presence of a relative is required for a person undergoing surgery, invasive exam or treatment, or when a relative is needed to sign legal documents related to a medical procedure, he said.
Visits can also be allowed when a patient is being treated in an emergency room, or intensive care or hospice care unit, situations in which discussions with family members are considered essential, he said.
It will be up to each hospital to decide whether such visits are to be permitted, Chen said, adding that the exceptions for visits to nursing homes would be determined by those facilities.
While people are still allowed to visit inpatient and nursing home residents in cities and counties outside the six high-risk areas, all visitors need to show proof of having received three COVID-19 vaccinations at least 14 days prior to their visit, Chen said.
People who have not received the three jabs can present a negative COVID-19 test taken on the day of the visit, or show proof that they had the disease and completed quarantine within the past three months, he said.
There are 77 incidents of Taiwanese travelers going missing in China between January last year and last month, the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) said. More than 40 remain unreachable, SEF Secretary-General Luo Wen-jia (羅文嘉) said on Friday. Most of the reachable people in the more than 30 other incidents were allegedly involved in fraud, while some had disappeared for personal reasons, Luo said. One of these people is Kuo Yu-hsuan (郭宇軒), a 22-year-old Taiwanese man from Kaohsiung who went missing while visiting China in August. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office last month said in a news statement that he was under investigation
‘JOINT SWORD’: Whatever President Lai says in his Double Ten speech, China would use it as a pretext to launch ‘punishment’ drills for his ‘separatist’ views, an official said China is likely to launch military drills this week near Taiwan, using President William Lai’s (賴清德) upcoming national day speech as a pretext to pressure the nation to accept its sovereignty claims, Taiwanese officials said. China in May launched “punishment” drills around Taiwan shortly after Lai’s inauguration, in what Beijing said was a response to “separatist acts,” sending heavily armed warplanes and staging mock attacks as state media denounced newly inaugurated Lai. The May drills were dubbed “Joint Sword — 2024A” and drew concerns from capitals, including Washington. Lai is to deliver a key speech on Thursday in front of the Presidential Office
An aviation jacket patch showing a Formosan black bear punching Winnie the Pooh has become popular overseas, including at an aviation festival held by the Japan Air Self-Defense Force at the Ashiya Airbase yesterday. The patch was designed last year by Taiwanese designer Hsu Fu-yu (徐福佑), who said that it was inspired by Taiwan’s countermeasures against frequent Chinese military aircraft incursions. The badge shows a Formosan black bear holding a Republic of China flag as it punches Winnie the Pooh — a reference to Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) — who is dressed in red and is holding a honey pot with
Celebrations marking Double Ten National Day are to begin in Taipei today before culminating in a fireworks display in Yunlin County on the night of Thursday next week. To start the celebrations, a concert is to be held at the Taipei Dome at 4pm today, featuring a lineup of award-winning singers, including Jody Chiang (江蕙), Samingad (紀曉君) and Huang Fei (黃妃), Taipei tourism bureau official Chueh Yu-ling (闕玉玲) told a news conference yesterday. School choirs, including the Pqwasan na Taoshan Choir and Hngzyang na Matui & Nahuy Children’s Choir, and the Ministry of National Defense Symphony Orchestra, flag presentation unit and choirs,
RSS