Health Minister Chen Shih-chung says the government is working hard to avoid the worst COVID-19 scenario. Chen was speaking Wednesday, after Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je said that Taiwan can’t afford to wait until August for vaccines, as there will be too many deaths.
The government has extended its Level 3 COVID-19 alert to June 14 amid a spike in confirmed infections. However, there has been no sign of a let-up.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, Taiwan has reported 5,584 domestically-transmitted cases, the majority of them confirmed over the past few weeks. Most recently-reported cases are centered on Taipei and New Taipei. On Thursday, Taiwan saw 13 deaths, a record high.
Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je says he doesn’t think Taiwan will be able to hold up until August if it waits until then to get 10 million doses of COVID vaccines.
Health Minister Chen Shih-chung says he is working hard to prevent the worst scenario from happening. Chen says the situation is not worsening rapidly, though it remains to be seen whether there will be an improvement.
Chen said that keeping workers at home might help curb the virus. But there are two problems. First, the public will get tired of disease prevention measures. And second, the move will seriously damage economic development.