Coronavirus: Taiwan closes cinemas, libraries as local infections rise to 180
- Taipei and New Taipei City move to alert level three, which restricts the size of gatherings to five people indoors and 10 outdoors
- Wearing of face masks now mandatory for all when outdoors
Officials said the measures, which were announced on Saturday and include mandatory wearing of face masks outdoors, were necessary to curb the spread of Covid-19.
“Only by doing this can infections be dealt with and controlled,” Health Minister Chen Shih-chung said, adding the new rules would stay in place until May 28.
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Cinemas, sports stadiums, recreation centres and libraries will all be closed under the new rules.
Chen said health authorities had no plan for an island-wide lockdown, which would only be introduced when there were more than 100 new cases with unknown sources for seven days in a row.
Tsai also asked the public to refrain from hoarding medical supplies and daily necessities, including masks, toilet paper and instant noodles, saying the island had enough supplies for more than a year.