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進入《TAIPEI TIMES》 Half of kids must be jabbed for controls to ease: CECC
Construction workers repair a road in Taipei’s Wenshan District while wearing masks yesterday. Photo: CNA
CHANGE: The Ministry of Labor separately announced that arriving migrant workers would no longer have to be covered by health insurance for COVID-19 infection
By Chiu Chih-jou and Kayleigh Madjar / Staff reporter, with staff writer and CNA
At least 50 percent of children under five in Taiwan must be vaccinated against COVID-19 before the nation can relax its border controls, the Central Epidemic Command Center （CECC） said yesterday as it reported 25,071 new cases.
The center has previously mentioned plans to exempt incoming travelers from quarantine in favor of a seven-day health management period, although it has not provided details or a timetable.
On Monday, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang （王必勝）, who heads the CECC, said that various factors would need to be considered, including the vaccination rate among young children, without providing a figure.
Asked about the issue yesterday, Centers for Disease Control （CDC） Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang （莊人祥）, the CECC’s spokesperson, reiterated that a “0+7” plan for arrivals is still in the works, but the first-dose vaccination rate among young children must reach at least 50 percent before it can be implemented.
As of yesterday, 6.6 percent of children between six months and five years old had received a COVID-19 vaccine dose since inoculations for the age group began on Thursday.
About one-quarter of young children in Taiwan have contracted COVID-19, Chuang said, adding that severe infections remain a concern, especially among unvaccinated toddlers.
Separately yesterday, the Ministry of Labor announced that arriving migrant workers would no longer have to be covered by a COVID-19 health insurance plan before entering the nation, starting immediately.
Migrant workers entering Taiwan must be fully vaccinated and only a small number of positive cases have been detected after entry, the ministry said in a statement explaining the reason for the change.
Even though insurance plans are no longer mandatory, employers must still submit the negative result of a polymerase chain reaction test taken by the workers within two days of boarding their flights to Taiwan, the ministry said.
The CECC yesterday reported 24,790 new local and 281 imported COVID-19 cases, as well as 37 deaths.
The deceased ranged in age from their 40s to over 90, the CECC said.
Thirty-six previously reported cases have become severe, while 32 others have developed moderate symptoms, it said.
Among the severe cases are two children who have been diagnosed with multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, the CECC said.
To date, 120 children under the age of 13 have developed severe illness from COVID-19 and 25 have died.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
