Taiwan COVID-19 News Briefs: June 11
ROC Central News Agency
06/11/2022 09:32 PM
Taipei, June 11 (CNA) Taiwan reported 79,663 new COVID-19 cases -- 79,598 domestically transmitted and 65 imported infections -- and 211 deaths from the disease on Saturday, according to the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC).
It was the third consecutive day that Taiwan reported more than 200 COVID-19 deaths.
Here are some of the new developments regarding the COVID-19 situation around Taiwan on Saturday:
Taiwan to cut COVID-19 quarantine for arrivals
The mandatory quarantine for arriving passengers to Taiwan will be cut from seven to three days, effective from June 15, Health and Welfare Minister Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the CECC, said Saturday.
Under the new plan, arriving passengers in Taiwan will take a saliva test at the airport, and begin their three-day quarantine period the following day, Chen said during a press briefing.
Following the three-day quarantine, they will have to observe tight disease prevention protocols for another four days, during which they are advised to not go out unless necessary.
Most of Taiwan COVID-19 deaths happen within a week
As of June 9, Taiwan has recorded a total of 2,944 COVID-19 deaths this year, of which about 41 percent of these fatalities had occurred within three days of the disease's onset, while 26 percent happened between four to seven days, and 33 percent after one week, CECC statistics showed.
The 211 deaths reported on Saturday were people in their 30s to 90s, deputy head of the CECC's medical response division Lo Yi-chun (羅一鈞) said, and 198 of them had chronic illnesses while 94 were unvaccinated.
A majority of the deaths were aged 70 or older, according to the CECC.
The youngest was a man in his 30s who had chronic kidney disease and diabetes, and had received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, Lo said, adding that his death was caused by COVID-19 combined with acute myocardial infarction, arrhythmia, and pneumonia.
Regarding the 211 deaths reported on Saturday, the CECC official said 36 percent of them died within three days of the disease's onset, while 29 percent happened between four to seven days, and 35 percent after one week.
New COVID-19 guideline for travelers to be available
A COVID-19 guideline for inbound and outbound passengers has been prepared and will be sent to the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) for review, the Tourism Bureau said.
Chou Ting-chang (周廷彰), the bureau's deputy director-general, said the guideline for travelers will include several requirements targeting tour groups, vaccine doses received, and also suggestions that arriving passengers download the government's social distancing mobile app.
Chou's comments came after the CECC announced Saturday it would cut mandatory quarantine for arrivals from seven to three days effective June 15.
With this, he said, relevant rules pertaining to quarantine hotels would soon be amended following further discussion next Monday.
Shortened quarantine also applies to migrant workers
With Taiwan set to implement its shortened mandatory quarantine for arrivals to three days, the Ministry of Labor (MOL) said the new upcoming measure would also apply to migrant workers coming into the country.
Migrant workers who finish their three-day mandatory quarantine will not be allowed to work following the four-day disease prevention protocol period, the MOL said.
Employers must abide by the rule that their migrant workers must still be paid during these four days, it said.
As migrant workers who come to Taiwan live and work together in large groups, the risk of a COVID-19 cluster infection is exceptionally high, hence the no-work rule during the four-day disease prevention period, said Hsueh Chien-chung (薛鑑忠), a division chief with the Workforce Development Agency under the MOL.
However, in line with the government's epidemic prevention requirements, employers must pay them their wages on those four days, Hsueh said.
According to MOL statistics as of May 25, a total of 39,670 migrant workers arrived in Taiwan after the country lifted its entry ban on Feb. 15 on migrant workers from all four major source countries -- Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam.
The 39,670 people included 35,370 industrial workers and 4,300 domestic helpers. While 14,954 were from Vietnam, 10431 were from Indonesia, followed by Thailand 7,785 and the Philippines 6,500.
Taiwan relaxes quarantine rules for crew members
Crew members of local airlines who work long-haul flights will no longer have to undergo home quarantine if they have gotten a COVID-19 vaccine booster and test negative daily for seven days after arriving home, starting June 15.
Under the new rules, crew members who received their booster shot at least two weeks prior to their assignment will only have to take one polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test upon arrival.
They will then be subject to seven days of self-health management protocols, during which they have to get a test every two days, the CECC said.
At present, crew members with a booster shot still have to take a PCR test upon returning to Taiwan, be quarantined for three days, and then undergo another four days of self-health management protocols, during which they have to test every day.
(By Chang Ming-hsuan, Yu Hsiao-han, Wu Hsin-yun and Ko Lin)
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