Taiwan is extending its nationwide Level 3 COVID-19 alert to July 12. That’s two weeks past the alert’s original end date. A Level 3 alert entails a soft lockdown, with schools closed, wearing of masks required in public, and controls put in place on the size of gatherings.
The Level 3 COVID-19 alert was first declared in Taipei and New Taipei on May 15. It was then extended nationwide on May 19, as it became apparent that Taiwan was facing its biggest COVID-19 outbreak since the pandemic began.
The number of daily cases has been declining, and officials say the outbreak has come under control. However, there have been intercity community transmissions and a cluster outbreak at Taipei’s main wholesale fruit market, so officials decided to extend the current restrictions nationwide.
As the Central Epidemic Command Center announced the extension of the alert into July on Wednesday, it also announced six measures it would take to further contain the outbreak. They are the following:
1) Quick contact tracing of current COVID-19 patients;
2) Requiring people who are in home quarantine or home isolation to take a PCR test the day before their quarantine ends;
3) Increasing vaccination of people at high risk of getting COVID-19 and finding ways to decrease serious side effects and fatalities after vaccination;
4) Promoting mass testing, including testing in local communities, companies, and at home;
5) Strengthening the care of patients seriously ill due to COVID-19 by consulting experts online on suitable treatment;
6) Monitoring the health of workers at traditional markets and supermarkets.