Taipei healthcare workers and disease prevention personnel who have come into close contact with a confirmed COVID-19 case can continue working without being placed in isolation as per a new policy, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said yesterday while visiting a COVID-19 care center in Zhongshan District (中山), on the day the policy took effect.
Exposed personnel who have received a third dose of a COVID-19 vaccine can remain at work under a plan that includes continual testing, said Ko, who was released from home isolation at midnight that day.
A rapid test is to be performed each morning before starting work, he said.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
The Taipei City Government on Wednesday established 12 COVID-19 care centers throughout the city, providing comprehensive care services for the increasing number of confirmed cases who are isolating at home, and people who are under home quarantine.
“There are about 2,900 people quarantined or isolated at home in Zhongshan District alone,” he said. “If there is a confirmed case at the care center, it might cause workers to be isolated and the center’s operation to be halted. Who will provide care services for more than 2,000 people?”
Included in the policy are health department officials, police officers, firefighters and environmental protection department officials, who are all considered by the city to be disease prevention personnel, Taipei Deputy Mayor Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) said as she visited a care center in Neihu District (內湖) yesterday morning.
Huang was also released from isolation at midnight.
The policy could be expanded to include public transportation employees, wholesale market workers and school faculties, she said.
The city is to discuss with the central government today whether rapid tests for healthcare workers and other personnel should be conducted daily or every two days, Taipei City Government Deputy Spokeswoman Vivienne Wei (魏文元) said.
FUKUOKA SITUATION: Japanese media reported that the pathogen is expected to be identified by the summer, while the CDC downplayed the idea that it was hMPV A “mysterious cold-like illness” reported in Japan’s Fukuoka Prefecture does not seem to be a new disease, but Japanese authorities have been asked about the situation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. The Fukuoka Prefectural Medical Association on Wednesday told a news conference that a “mystery cold” that has become a hot topic on social media is “highly likely to be caused by some kind of viral infection,” Japan’s KBC News reported. “Many people are experiencing symptoms starting with a sore throat, followed by a runny nose, phlegm and a severe cough,” KBC News reported, citing association officials. Health authorities are
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) arrived in Taiwan yesterday ahead of upcoming AI and technology events, saying he plans to meet with clients and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) during his visit. After landing at Taipei Songshan Airport, Huang posed for photos with fans and handed out Yakult drinks to reporters and supporters waiting at the scene, saying he has “a lot to do” during the trip. Asked about reports that Nvidia’s planned headquarters site in Taipei’s Beitou Shilin Technology Park could break ground on May 27, Huang said that if the company holds an event, he would
Carrefour Taiwan is to begin using a new name from the start of July, but it cannot divulge the name until then, the chairman of the supermarket chain's parent company said today. President Chain Store Co chairman Lo Chih-hsien (羅智先) was asked by reporters after a shareholders' meeting to confirm whether the company has settled on a new name for the supermarket brand. In March, the government-registered name of two Carrefour Taiwan branches was quietly changed to "Le Chia Kang" (樂家康) in Chinese, raising speculation that has been selected as the name. Lo said that because of local regulations and contractual obligations, the
The Philippines would likely be involved in any conflict over Taiwan due to its proximity to the democracy claimed by China, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said, reiterating a stance that risks angering Beijing. “In the Philippines, we do not have a choice because Taiwan is so close to the Philippines and we have almost 200,000 Filipino nationals living and working in Taiwan,” Marcos said in an interview with Japanese media in Manila on Monday. The Philippine leader’s comments come ahead of a state visit to Japan next week, where he is to meet with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to discuss security
RSS