Premier Su Tseng-chang on Thursday received a Ministry of Health and Welfare briefing on the state of the COVID-19 pandemic and related public health measures. Domestic cases are under control and on a stable downward trend, the premier said, while the health care system has returned to full capacity. In light of this, the Central Epidemic Command Center and the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) plan to loosen border restrictions concerning the total number of arriving travelers permitted and will announce the new cap once appropriate complementary measures are determined. This will bring Taiwan's border controls closer in line with international trends, the premier said.
Domestic cases have been falling for five consecutive weeks, the premier continued, with cases each week dropping 10% or 20% below the previous. Administration of the first shipment of 500,000 doses of Novavax vaccine received by Taiwan will also begin Friday. Overall vaccine coverage is quite high, with 91.3% of the population having received the first vaccine dose, 84.5% having received the second and 70.4% having received the third. Among children ages 5 to 11, the first-dose coverage rate has already surpassed 75.5%.
With the pandemic situation improving and people in Taiwan gradually resuming social activities, the MOTC has introduced a domestic travel subsidy program where, starting July 15, citizens staying at a registered hotel can enjoy a subsidy of up to NT$1,300 (US$43.61). The premier encouraged the public to take advantage of this program and support the tourism and travel industries.