
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
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.
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.
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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.
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.
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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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.

