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進入《TAIPEI TIMES》 No local cases reported for second time this week
Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung yesterday attends the Central Epidemic Command Center’s daily news conference in Taipei. Photo courtesy of the Central Epidemic Command Center
URGING CAUTION: Zero local cases cannot be expected every day as the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant is still putting pressure on the nation’s defenses, center officials said
By Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporter
The Central Epidemic Command Center （CECC） yesterday reported no new local COVID-19 cases and seven imported cases, marking the second time this week with no local infections.
There is no plan to lower a nationwide level 2 COVID-19 alert, the center said.
However, a ban on visits to long-term care facilities in New Taipei City and Taipei would be lifted from Tuesday, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung （陳時中）, who heads the center, told the daily CECC news conference in Taipei.
Care facility residents can receive up to three visitors at a time, but masks should be worn during visits, Chen said.
Visitors would have to make reservations in advance and
present a negative COVID-19 test report from within three days of their visit, Chen said, adding that rapid test results and laboratory test results would be accepted.
Asked whether the center is considering to lower the alert to level 1, Chen said that there is no such plan.
On July 27, the alert level was lowered to level 2, after Taiwan was under a level 3 alert for more than two months following a spike in domestic cases in May.
It is a thread of hope that no local cases were reported yesterday, Chen said, adding that this cannot be expected every day.
The CECC is focused on further improving the efficiency of contact tracing and increasing the nation’s vaccination coverage, he said.
The seven imported infections reported yesterday were three men and four women, aged in their 20s to 40s, who arrived in Taiwan between Aug. 13 and Wednesday, CECC data showed.
Among them were two Taiwanese women returning from the US and Sweden; two Indonesian men arriving from Indonesia; a British man arriving from Indonesia; and two Indian women arriving from India, the data showed.
The three arrivals from the US and India have been vaccinated against COVID-19, while the woman returning from Sweden has not, the data showed.
The remaining three imported cases are under investigation, the center said.
The CECC also reported one new death from COVID-19, a man in his 60s who had a history of chronic disease and had contact with other confirmed cases, the data showed.
The center shared genome sequencing results of 16 cases among 29 imported cases reported between Friday last week and Thursday.
All 16 had the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2, said Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Philip Lo （羅一鈞）, deputy head of the center’s medical response division.
Overall, the center has identified 83 Delta cases, including 70 imported cases, while all 13 local Delta cases were linked to a cluster in Pingtung County, he said.
Imported Delta cases still put pressure on the nation’s COVID-19 response, Lo said, adding that strict border controls are still necessary.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
