News
Level 3 alert extended until 12 July
By ECCT staff writers and Courtesy of ICRT
The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) today announced that the current coronavirus alert level (Level 3) will be extended for an additional two weeks until 12 July. This answers speculation over the past few days that the CECC would relax the alert level after several days of declining Covid-19 infections, including two consecutive days when fewer than 100 new cases were reported.
Under the Level 3 alert, schools will remain closed until the current semester ends in early July. People will still be required to wear masks at all times when they leave their homes, and a ban will be retained on indoor gatherings of more than four people and outdoor gatherings of more than nine people.
This afternoon, the CECC reported 104 new cases of Covid-19, bringing the total number in the country to 14,260, of which over 13,800 have been domestic infections recorded since May 15.
While CECC officials have expressed cautious optimism that the situation is under control and the number of people getting vaccinations is rising, the overall vaccination rate remains low compared to many developed countries. According to the CECC, as of yesterday, only fewer than 7% of Taiwan’s residents had received at least one vaccine shot of a Covid-19 vaccine.
In related news from ICRT, the Central Epidemic Command Center is set to expand the coverage of its nationwide coronavirus vaccination programme from 1 July.
The expanded list will include senior citizens aged between 65 and 74, postal workers, food delivery workers and others.
Health minister Chen Shih-chung says expansion will cover individuals in categories 7 and 8 of the vaccine priority list.
The original Category 7 includes members of the armed forces, essential workers in key industries, employees at schools up to high school level and frontline media reporters.
However, it has been expanded to include the frontline postal workers and food delivery and transportation sectors in Taipei, New Taipei, Keelung and Taoyuan.
Category 8 covers people aged 65-74 and indigenous people aged 55-64.
People who have already received their first AstraZeneca or Moderna vaccine dose will also be able to get their second jab of the same vaccine starting from 1 July.
