At the Cabinet's weekly meeting Thursday, Premier Su Tseng-chang received a Ministry of Health and Welfare briefing on the status of the COVID-19 pandemic and related public health measures. Two new measures have been implemented starting September 12, the premier said. First, in-person classes at schools and universities no longer need to be suspended if a student tests positive for COVID-19, as long as the student isolates and the student's classmates remain asymptomatic and test negative. Second, Taiwan has resumed visa-free entry privileges for 54 countries including the U.S., Canada, New Zealand, Australia, all EU countries and Taiwan's 14 diplomatic allies. The government will continue to make suitable preparations to further ease border controls, the premier said.
As previously anticipated, the number of domestic confirmed COVID-19 cases has trended upward following the start of the school semester and the end of the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday. Although 99.5% of cases recorded since the beginning of the year have been mild or asymptomatic, the premier directed the Central Epidemic Command Center to continue closely monitoring the latest COVID developments and respond with appropriate caution.
Premier Su emphasized that as COVID-19 infection rates rise, getting vaccinated is still the most effective way to boost immunity, and directed the relevant ministries and agencies to continue their public awareness efforts and raise the coverage rate in all age groups. The government has purchased three million doses of Moderna's second-generation bivalent COVID-19 vaccine, with the first batch of 800 thousand doses scheduled to arrive on September 16 and another 800 thousand doses to arrive on September 18, for a total of 1.6 million doses. Taiwan's use of antiviral drugs for confirmed cases also ranks second worldwide, effectively reducing the rate of serious illness and demonstrating the government's dedication to protecting high-risk groups.