Taipei:
Taiwan may perhaps raise its COVID-19 alert level in “coming days”, Health Minister Chen Shih-chung stated on Wednesday, according to the official Central News Agency, which would lead to closure of shops dealing in non-important products as infections rise.
On Tuesday, Taiwan announced plans to restrict public gatherings as a outcome of a cluster of six new instances with no clear infection supply, an uncommon outbreak for the island that had kept the pandemic properly beneath handle.
Describing the scenario as “very serious”, Chen told parliament the level could be lifted a notch to 3, limiting gatherings to 5 people today indoors and 10 outdoors, as properly as closing of non-important organizations.
Later he told media a choice may come in “coming days”.President Tsai Ing-wen will hold a news conference on the coronavirus on Wednesday afternoon.
The benchmark stock index fell more than 8% on worries more than the new instances, although infections are nonetheless fairly couple of.
Taiwan largely closed its borders early in the pandemic and has a robust get in touch with tracing and quarantine technique, maintaining infections to 1,210, like 12 deaths, and permitting life to keep close to standard.
Although Taiwan has not previously ordered it, the highest alert level of 4 would trigger an productive lockdown, with people today told to retain to home as significantly as feasible.
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