The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported 26,095 new local COVID-19 cases, an increase of 13.9 percent from last week, and predicted that total caseloads this week could rise by about 10 percent.
New Taipei City had the most cases at 5,258, followed by Taipei with 3,189, Taichung with 3,038, Taoyuan with 2,673, Kaohsiung with 2,179, Tainan with 1,650 and Changhua County with 1,132, CECC data showed.
Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞), deputy head of the CECC’s medical response division, reported 28 moderate-to-severe cases, which is the lowest daily number since May 3.
Photo: Lo Pei-te, Taipei Times
Among the 16 deceased reported yesterday, aged 50 to 90, nine had not received a booster vaccine and all had chronic illnesses, he said.
Lo also provided a weekly update on COVID-19 infections in residential care facilities, saying that positivity rates dropped further to 0.5 percent among staff and 0.6 percent among residents last week.
Meanwhile, the Control Yuan yesterday published its investigation report on the CECC’s “3+11” quarantine policy decision procedure.
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) has blamed the “3+11” quarantine policy — three days of home quarantine, followed by 11 days of self-health management for Taiwan-based airline crewmembers imposed in April last year — as the main reason for the local COVID-19 outbreak in May last year, and has questioned the CECC’s statement that it did not take minutes of the meeting that led to the decision.
The Control Yuan report said that due process was followed, with the head of the CECC listening to the responsible divisions’ reports on the issue and making a decision, announcing the policy at a news conference and issuing a press release.
There are no clear regulations stipulating that meeting minutes must be taken and published, but as it concerns the public’s right to health and knowledge, the Ministry of Health and Welfare must amend related regulations, it said, adding that the center did not provide a thorough public explanation of how the policy was made — an area that needs improving.
CDC Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥) later yesterday said that the “3+11” policy had been implemented since 2020, and it was only tightened to “7+7” during the autumn-winter COVID-19 prevention program launched in December that year.
As the management of airline crew in hotels in other countries greatly improved, such as adding surveillance cameras in hotel hallways and providing one-time hotel room cards, and violations of COVID-19 rules dropped, the quarantine requirement was eased to “5+9,” the CECC spokesman said.
Another review of airline crew management in April last year showed that there were no violations and COVID-19 tests of more than 9,000 crew members in March showed that the vast majority were negative, so the rule was eased to “3+11” on April 15, Chuang said.
Chinese spouse and influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China videos that threaten national security, the National Immigration Agency confirmed today. Guan Guan has said many controversial statements in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” and expressing hope for expedited reunification. The agency last year received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification. After verifying the reports, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and explain her actions. Guan
GIVE AND TAKE: Blood demand continues to rise each year, while fewer young donors are available due to the nation’s falling birthrate, a doctor said Blood donors can redeem points earned from donations to obtain limited edition Formosan black bear travel mugs, the Kaohsiung Blood Center said yesterday, as it announced a goal of stocking 20,000 units of blood prior to the Lunar New Year. The last month of the lunar year is National Blood Donation Month, when local centers seek to stockpile blood for use during the Lunar New Year holiday. The blood demand in southern Taiwan — including Tainan and Kaohsiung, as well as Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Taitung counties — is about 2,000 units per day, the center said. The donation campaign aims to boost
The Kaohsiung Tourism Bureau audited six hotels in an effort to prevent price gouging ahead of Korean band BTS’ concert tour in the city scheduled for Nov. 19, 21 and 22 this year. The bureau on Friday said that the audits — conducted in response to allegations of unfair pricing posted on social media — found no wrongdoing. These establishments included the local branches of Chateau de Chine, Hotel Nikko, My Humble House, and Grand Hai Lai, it said, adding that the Consumer Protection Commission would have penalized price gougers had the accusations been substantiated. The bureau said the Tourism Development Act
The military yesterday said it has located the flight data recorder, or black box, of an F-16V jet that disappeared off eastern Taiwan earlier this month, and it would soon deploy a salvage team to try to retrieve it. Air Force Command Headquarters said that while it had pinned down the location of the black box, it was still searching for the aircraft’s sole pilot, air force Captain Hsin Po-yi (辛柏毅). Without providing details, the air force said it had located the black box days after detecting some intermittent signals and would now engage a team of professionals to retrieve it. The air
RSS