Taipei, May 31 (CNA) President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday defended Taiwan's development of its own COVID-19 vaccines amid accusations that the government is deliberately preventing imports of vaccines to protect domestic vaccine makers.
SLOWING: The virus’ Rt value, which predicts the number of people a patient could infect, has dropped to 1.02 and must fall below one for the outbreak to be under controlBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporter
Taipei, May 30 (CNA) There are no immediate plans to impose a full lockdown in Taiwan, although some cities and counties have been carrying out computerized drills to prepare for such an eventuality, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said Sunday.
Keelung Mayor Lin Yu-chang (林右昌) yesterday urged city residents who shop at wet markets to do so on a rotational basis to avoid crowding, in line with the city’s COVID-19 control measures.
People whose national ID number ends with an even digit should visit wet markets on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, while people whose ID number ends with an odd digit should visit on Mondays, Wednesdays and Sundays, he said.
The city government would observe for a few days to see whether the suggestion is being followed and would decide if it is necessary to make it mandatory, Lin said during
The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday announced subsidies for local governments that set up community-based COVID-19 testing stations, saying that it would also bolster the distribution of essential personal protective equipment (PPE).
One of the most important tasks is to find all the people who have been infected with COVID-19, said Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, adding that the subsidies would help achieve that goal.
When choosing locations for testing stations, local governments should consider area case counts, hotspots visited by confirmed cases and areas with higher prevalence of infections, he said.
To preserve hospital