Taiwan’s new coronavirus outbreak has suddenly and dramatically worsened. Taiwan’s Central Epidemic Command Center announced on Monday (May 17) that there were 335 new cases of New Coronavirus infection in Taiwan on that day, including 333 local cases and 2 imported cases from abroad. The number of local cases in Taiwan is the highest single-day record since the beginning of the outbreak. The new cases were mainly concentrated in Taipei City and New Taipei City (referred to as Double North), with 306 cases. This is the third consecutive day that Taiwan has had more than 100 new local cases.
The command center commander Chen Shih-chung said at a press conference on Monday that the imported cases came in from the Philippines and Haiti respectively. The two cases entered the country on April 30 and May 16, and both infected persons had a negative test report within three days before taking the flight.
The local cases were 189 females and 144 males, ranging in age from less than 5 years old to more than 90 years old, with onset dates and testing dates ranging from May 5 to May 16.
Taiwan’s media reported that the Double North announced the suspension of classes and childcare until May 28 for schools below high school level, public and private kindergartens, public and private childcare centers, and home-based nannies. New Taipei Mayor Hou You-yi said Monday that preparations are being made to raise the alert for the new crown pneumonia to level 4. He said the alert level in New Taipei City is likely to be close to level 4 in the face of the outbreak of coronavirus cases over the past three days. However, he noted that Level 3 precautions must be strengthened first, adding that the public should be prepared for more restrictions related to New Coronavirus pneumonia if the number of confirmed cases continues to increase in the near future.
Taiwan’s Central Epidemic Command Center announced on the morning of May 15 that Taipei City and New Taipei City were raised to Level 3 epidemic alert from that day until May 28, and that masks would need to be worn throughout the day when going out.
Whether Taiwan will take measures to seal off the city, the Central Epidemic Control Center said last Saturday (May 15) that it would only do so if there were at least 100 new cases of infection per day for 14 consecutive days.
However, Taiwan’s Central Epidemic Control Command Center (CECC) will introduce new border restrictions starting this Wednesday (May 19), including a temporary ban on the entry of foreigners without valid residence permits, and the suspension of connecting flights. The exceptions are for emergency or humanitarian reasons and other cases with special permission.
The total number of confirmed cases in Taiwan so far is 2,017, with 1,081 cases imported from abroad and 883 local cases. Among the confirmed cases, 12 people have died.
Reuters reports that the Taiwanese government is concerned that the Chinese government will use the new wave of new coronavirus outbreaks in Taiwan to provide vaccines from China to Taiwan through the Covax Global Vaccine Sharing Program. And Taiwan law prohibits the use of Chinese vaccines.
A security official investigating China’s activities in Taiwan told Reuters that the security service has been notified to focus its investigation on a “perception conflict” created by the Chinese government. A “cognitive conflict” is a psychological state of cognition that occurs when an individual becomes aware of inconsistencies between the individual’s cognitive structure and the environment or between different components within the individual’s cognitive structure. The Chinese authorities are suspected of trying to “create confusion” through the inconsistency between personal perceptions and reality in order to undermine public trust in the Taiwanese government’s handling of the outbreak.
Some in Taiwan have been emphasizing the effectiveness of the Chinese vaccine, complaining that the Taiwanese government has blindly pinned its hopes on the U.S. vaccine and the Taiwan-made vaccine, leaving people’s lives in limbo.
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office did not respond to a request for comment from Reuters.
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