Taiwan reported 61,754 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, including 61,697 domestic and 57 infected abroad, as well as 29 deaths, according to the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC).
Here are some of the new developments regarding the COVID-19 situation around Taiwan on Monday:
Taiwan stepping up production of COVID-19 rapid tests
The Ministry of Health and Welfare said Monday the arrival and installation of new manufacturing equipment will boost Taiwan’s production of COVID-19 rapid tests to 15.95 million units per month by July, up from only about 4.45 million tests per month at present.
Taiwan continues to a face a shortage of the rapid tests, which have been in high demand and are being rationed because of limited access to the more accurate but more time-consuming COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests.
Remote learning extended in southern Taiwan
Faced with a huge surge in COVID-19 cases, some universities in southern Taiwan are going to remote learning until the end of the semester.
In Yunlin County, National Formosa University (NFU) and National Yunlin University of Science and Technology (YunTech) both announced new remote learning protocols.
NFU announced Monday that all of its classes will go online starting Tuesday, while YunTech said its remote learning program will start May 23.
National Cheng Kung University in Tainan said most of its classes will go online Tuesday amid rising cases and a petition from its student council, after it had announced Sunday that only one of its campuses would adopt remote learning.
It said Monday that classes that have to be taught in-person may now only proceed with approval from the school.
New guidelines for junior high assessment exam
The comprehensive assessment examination for junior high school students is scheduled for May 21-22, and the Ministry of Education (MOE) announced plans Monday to accommodate those who have tested positive for COVID-19, or are in isolation or in “self-initiated epidemic prevention.”
The MOE said special examination rooms will be set up for those students so that they are separated, and they can either take a taxi designated to carry at-risk people to their testing venue or be driven by a family member or friend.
Students who had a positive rapid test result before May 20 but have yet to have their results confirmed by a PCR test, however, can take a make-up examination June 4-5.
Long-term care centers to get rapid tests
With COVID-19 cases rising in long-term care facilities, the CECC will allocate rapid tests to those facilities at the same price as the NT$100 (US$3.36) charged for rationed rapid tests, Health Minister Chen Shih-chung (???) said.
The CECC will check the needs of care facilities and allocate the tests accordingly, he said.
New Taipei care facilities to get free rapid tests, on-site boosters
New Taipei Mayor Hou Yu-ih (???) said his city will donate 46,000 rapid tests to the 318 long-term care centers in its jurisdiction.
Medical professionals will also be sent again to the care centers in June to provide a fourth vaccine jab for people who work or live in them. Some 99 percent of the 9,368 caregivers who work in the centers and 85 percent of the 16,436 people being cared have gotten third shots.
Many of the third shot boosters were given by medical professionals at the facilities in January, and Hou said the initiative had positive results, leading him to use the concept again next month.
More testing stations in Taoyuan, Taichung
Taoyuan Mayor Cheng Wen-tsan (???) said Monday the city will add seven more COVID-19 testing stations for children and the elderly and their caregivers, after the first two stations delivered positive results.
Cheng said the stations will offer PCR tests, simple medical checkups, and prescriptions for drugs should they be needed.
In Taichung, Mayor Lu Shiow-yen (???) said three new PCR drive-through testing sites will open Tuesday.
She said the current drive-through sites have helped shift some of the testing burden away from the city’s busy hospitals.
Children and infants prioritized in Tainan, Hualien
Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che (???) said the National Cheng Kung University Hospital has set up special care units for newborns and children with severe infections.
According to the city, 15 beds in the hospital are now reserved for pregnant women who test positive for the virus and their unborn as well as newborn babies.
Eight other beds are also reserved for children aged 6 and under who have developed severe infections.
In Hualien, the county’s health bureau said exclusive COVID-19 services for children are now available at the Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital and the Fonglin and Yuli branches of the Taipei Veterans General Hospital.
The Tzu Chi Hospital and Taipei Veterans General Hospital’s Yuli Branch have also set up a 24-hour emergency pediatrics service to better care for children in the county.
Hualien County Magistrate Hsu Chen-wei (???) said that because nasal tests are not suitable for senior citizens and children, the county has plans to purchase oral COVID-19 tests for the two populations.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel