There has been another case of the Delta COVID-19 variant in Taiwan, this one in a person who was already fully vaccinated. Premier Su Tseng-chang says that although Taiwan's daily local case count has largely stayed in the single digits for the past 20 days, COVID-19 variants brought in from abroad still pose a risk. Therefore, Su says Taiwan needs to tighten up contamination prevention measures at the border.
Su says that Taiwan can't let any of these imported cases slip through the cracks. He says that otherwise, the country will struggle to completely eradicate COVID-19. For this reason, the Centers for Disease Control will be putting new security measures into effect from September 15, which should reinforce protection at quarantine hotels.
Su says that over ten million people in Taiwan have already received their first vaccine dose. That's close to 43% of the population. More than four batches of vaccines, nearly 1.8 million doses in total, arrived in Taiwan this week, bringing the total number of doses Taiwan has received so far to 13 million. The government also says it plans to buy 35 million doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine over the next two years.
Schools are another area where there's a significant risk of COVID-19 spreading. Su says that the Centers for Disease Control must closely supervise the pandemic protocol in place at schools as they reopen after a three month hiatus.