Advertisement
Advertisement
Coronavirus pandemic
Get more with myNEWS
A personalised news feed of stories that matter to you
Learn more
Many entertainment venues, including Taipei Zoo, have been closed in a bid to contain a spike in Covid-19 cases. Photo: CNA

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
Taiwan has ordered the closure of some entertainment venues and public facilities, and tightened limits on social gatherings in a bid to contain a new coronavirus outbreak as the daily number of local cases rose to a record 180 on Friday.

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.

01:39

Panic buying in Taiwan as new Covid-19 rules imposed amid spike in coronavirus infections

Panic buying in Taiwan as new Covid-19 rules imposed amid spike in coronavirus infections

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.

On Saturday, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen appealed to the public for calm and to work with the government to keep the pandemic at bay.
Shoppers empty shelves at a supermarket in Taiwan on Saturday. Photo: CNA

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.

Local news media reported panicked buyers emptying shelves at supermarkets as news of the record number of infections broke.

The Presidential Office also said Tsai and her deputy William Lai Ching-te would limit their public activities and meetings to essential gatherings.

Sanitation personnel go on disinfection duty in Taipei on Saturday. Photo: CNA

After months without any community infections, Taiwan has reported at least 280 local coronavirus cases since April 20. There were also five imported cases on Saturday.

Of the 180 local cases, 89 were in Taipei, 75 in New Taipei, six in Changhua, four each in Yilan and Taoyuan, and one each in Taichung and Keelung.

Health authorities set up several free Covid-19 testing centres in Taipei on Friday to try to identify any cases in the city.

Taiwan to boost spending by US$7.5 billion as Covid-19 cases rise

Taipei and New Taipei City have raised their alert levels for the first time to tier three in the four-tier system, restricting gatherings to five people indoors and 10 outdoors but stopping short of a lockdown.

Businesses have been told to adopt flexible arrangements such as remote working, while social distancing must be maintained in restaurants.

“We hope that people can order takeaway food but if going to a restaurant is really necessary, customers should maintain a safe distance and partitions should be put up,” Chen said.

Taiwan back on coronavirus alert as local clusters grow

Several other cities and counties, including Changhua, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung, also raised alert levels and tightened controls on social gatherings, with the Kaohsiung city government banning its officials from visiting Taipei and New Taipei until after May 28.

Taiwan, which has a population of about 24 million, has reported fewer than 1,500 cases since the start of the pandemic, most of them imported, and has yet to impose a full lockdown.

As case numbers grew, several universities switched to online classes last week.

Meanwhile, Taiwan’s de facto envoy in the United States Hsiao Bi-khim said on Friday she was in talks with the manufacturer of the US-made Moderna coronavirus vaccine to ensure that the doses bought by Taiwan arrived on the island next month.

Taiwan has signed contracts for 5.05 million doses of the Moderna vaccine in addition to 10 million AstraZeneca shots, and 4.76 million doses of unspecified manufacturers through the Covax programme.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: taiwan orders closures to contain surge in infections
32