Taiwan Premier says there is no Shanghai-like lockdown despite rising COVID-19 cases
April 23, 2022, 9:09 am

Taiwan Premier says there is no Shanghai-like lockdown despite rising COVID-19 cases

Seafood market in Keelung city, Taiwan (Photo: Pixabay)

The Arab News reported, citing Reuters, Taiwan will not go into a Shanghai-like lockdown to control a rise in domestic COVID-19 cases as the vast majority of those infected have no symptoms or show only minor symptoms, Premier Su Tseng-chang said on Saturday (Apr 23), pledging to keep opening up.

Taiwan has been dealing with a spike in local cases since the start of the year, but the numbers overall remain small — 18,436 since Jan. 1 for a population of some 23 million — and just four people have died.

Backed by a high vaccination rate, the government has been promoting the “new Taiwan model,” learning to gradually live with the virus and avoiding shutting down the economy, unlike in Shanghai which is in its third week of a lockdown to control the pandemic.

Speaking to reporters, Su said the government was confident in the steps being taken and it was “fortunate” more than 99 percent of cases were either asymptomatic or had mild illness.

Taiwan has been dealing with a spike in local cases since the start of the year, but the numbers overall remain small — 18,436 since Jan. 1 for a population of some 23 million — and just four people have died (File photo: Pixabay)

He added: “We will gradually deal with it and won’t be like Shanghai and go into lockdown, but we also won’t immediately stop wearing face masks and not take anti-pandemic measures."

The government expects daily cases to reach 10,000 by the end of the month and has warned the peak is likely several weeks off.

Shanghai reports first Covid-19 deaths since start of lockdown

Su said more vaccines and rapid tests were on their way to help cope with the uptick in infections to “prepare for the next steps in re-opening” and reduce the amount of time those with COVID-19 or their contacts have to spend in quarantine.

The government has already cut to 10 days from two weeks the quarantine for all arrivals in Taiwan, and is considering further gradual reductions as it looks to re-open its borders.

China imposes massive lockdown on millions of Shanghai residents

About 80 percent of Taiwan’s 23 million people are now double vaccinated and almost 60 percent have had a first booster dose, while mask-wearing mandates remain in place.

Taiwan has reported 47,100 infections since the pandemic began more than two years ago, and 856 deaths.

Source: arabnews

Joe Biden nominates Michael Ratney as US ambassador to Saudi Arabia Pakistan reports first poliovirus case in nearly 15 months

Upon arriving to participate in the summit of the European Political Community, which includes around forty heads of state in Budapest, he said, "I look forward to sitting with the elected U.S. president and seeing how we will collectively ensure we meet challenges, including the threats from Russia and North Korea." He also noted that the strengthening of ties between Russia and North Korea poses a threat to the United States as well, according to reports from Agence France-Presse.

Before Trump's victory, Rutte expressed confidence that a united Washington would remain part of the defensive alliance, even if Trump became the 47th president of the United States. In an interview with German public broadcaster ZDF last Monday night, he stated that both Republicans and Democrats understand that NATO serves not only the security of Europe but also that of America. He added that both candidates are aware that the security of the United States is closely tied to NATO.

On Wednesday, NATO congratulated Trump on his victory but did not address the Ukrainian issue.

It is noteworthy that the relationship between the elected U.S. president and the defense alliance was not the best during his first term in the White House. Trump criticized NATO member states multiple times and even hinted at withdrawing from the alliance unless they increased their financial contributions.

Additionally, the issue of the Russian-Ukrainian war is one of the matters that complicate relations between the two sides, especially since Trump has repeatedly stated that he can end this ongoing conflict, which began in 2022, quickly. He implied that he had a peace plan between Kyiv and Moscow, while his vice president, JD Vance, revealed aspects of that plan, which stipulated Ukraine's commitment not to join NATO, thereby sending reassuring signals to the Russians.

Furthermore, many NATO member states in Europe fear that Trump might halt military aid to Ukraine after he previously criticized the U.S. for pouring funds into supporting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.