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Taipei's main railway station is deserted on June 11, 2021, as people refrain from travelling amid the spread of coronavirus infections. Photo: Kyodo

Coronavirus: Taiwan outbreak ‘appears to stabilise’ as new cases fall

  • Epidemic command centre attributes slowing of number of infections to soft lockdown and public restraint
  • But public cannot let their guard down yet, health minister says
Taiwan’s Covid-19 outbreak appears to have stabilised, with the number of new daily infections dropping below 300 cases in the past week.

On Monday, the island reported 185 new infections – all local cases – with 15 new deaths, taking the total since the pandemic began to 13,106 cases and 452 deaths.

Taiwan’s Central Epidemic Command Centre said the island’s soft lockdown and the public’s restraint were major factors in the apparent slowdown in the outbreak, in which more than 12,000 people have been diagnosed with Covid-19 and 440 have died.

According to the centre, the number of infections was between 332 and 585 a day in the first six days of June. But since June 7, the number has steadily dropped below the 300 mark, with 175 cases recorded on Sunday – the first time the daily total dropped below 200 since May 15 when 180 new cases were reported.

“This indicates that the outbreak has showed signs of easing,” said Health Minister Chen Shih-chung, who heads the centre.

But there was still a long way to go before the public could let their guard down because the caseload was still high, Chen said.

Taiwan scrambles for vaccines after Covid-19 breaches its defences

The outbreak, which started in late April, prompted the centre to issue a tier three alert and impose strict measures on social distancing and mask wearing, while suspending activities which would draw crowds.

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and Chen have repeatedly asked the public to stay home as much as possible and refrain from returning to their hometowns during the Dragon Boat Festival long weekend.

Chen Hsiu-hsi, an epidemiology and preventive medicine professor at National Taiwan University, said it was unlikely the number of infections would drop below 100 before mid-July, given that there were undiagnosed cases within the community.

“Small infection clusters are expected to be reported in various communities in Taiwan as it is one of the features of the [Alpha variant] that the virus tends to spread among families and workplaces,” he said.

Taiwan’s latest cases were mostly caused by the Alpha variant suspected to have been brought back to the island by aircrews of Taiwanese airliners, according to centre officials.

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The outbreak prompted the military to postpone its five-day Han Kuang Exercise – Taiwan’s most important annual war games – from July 12 to September.

According to the defence ministry, arrangements for the postponed exercises would depend on the centre’s Covid-19 prevention protocols.

The ministry has reported at least 11 cases in the outbreak so far.

It has received 45,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine and started giving the shots to members of its chemical units helping disinfect public places found to have confirmed Covid-19 cases.

Taiwan has struggled to secure vaccine doses although it has signed deals to buy 10 million doses from AstraZeneca, 5 million from Moderna and more than 4.7 million doses via the Covax Facility, which is supported by the World Health Organization.

It has also ordered 10 million doses of locally developed vaccine with an option to buy 10 million more and is expected to receive 750,000 shots donated by the United States.

So far, it has received 720,000 doses from AstraZeneca and 150,000 from Moderna, plus 1.24 million AstraZeneca shots donated by the Japanese government.

The inadequate vaccine supplies and the rising death toll have led to growing public criticism of the Tsai government for failing to take action well in advance to secure enough shots and keep the pandemic at bay.

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