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Quarantine restrictions to be lifted despite rise in Covid cases
The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) reported 54,929 new coronavirus cases yesterday. Of that total, 54,874 were domestic infections. Wednesday's new cases were up 13.3% from a week ago and the daily tally has now risen week-on-week for 10 consecutive days. The CECC last reported a daily case load exceeding 50,000 on 22 June.
CECC head Victor Wang says the increase shows the daily number of new infections is peaking but could still rise further. However, Wang is insisting the rise in new cases will not affect the government's plans to lift mandatory quarantine for arriving travellers from next Thursday - as there's been no emergence of any new variants of the coronavirus that pose a threat.
In other Covid news, the CECC says it will be expanding the rollout of Moderna's second-generation coronavirus vaccine to all adults aged between 18 and 49 on 11 October.
According to CECC head Victor Wang, it was decided to make the shot more widely available due to younger adults being more prone to contracting the Omicron BA. 4 and BA. 5 subvariants.
Those two subvariants currently account for most of the infections in Taiwan. Moderna's second-generation coronavirus vaccine is currently only available to individuals aged 50 and over. The new rollout next Tuesday will be the third phase of the government's plan to make the second-generation booster the standard.
Meanwhile, NTU Public Health specialist Chen Xiu-xi is calling for ending the outdoor mask mandate and switching to "mask autonomy" so that life can become normal again.Chen says other than on mass transport vehicles or at big gatherings, health authorities should encourage people to make their own decision on whether to wear a face mask or not.He also suggests that instead of focusing on the number of coronavirus infections and testing, the efforts should now be closely monitoring those who suffer serious symptoms or deaths.
