COVID-19: NPP calls for Tsai to take charge of COVID-19 fightBy Shelley Shan / Staff reporterPresident Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) should personally lead the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic so that personnel and resources can be made available quickly to those in need, New Power Party (NPP) lawmakers said in a statement yesterday. In other countries, it is the president or prime minister who fully takes charge on the front line of the battle,” they said. “President Tsai should assume command so that all personnel and resources can be quickly directed to people in need,” they added. Tsai should welcome all efforts from the private sector to overcome political obstacles to secure vaccines, which should not include those produced in China, it said. People who are inoculated with COVID-19 vaccines should be covered by the nation’s vaccine injury compensation system, regardless of whether they received vaccines purchased by the government or the private sector, it added.

COVID-19: Private vaccine imports need approvalSIX APPLICATIONS: Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung said the FDA received four applications and the CDC two, but none had the proper paperworkBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterThe Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday said that six applications had been received from groups hoping to purchase and import COVID-19 vaccines. The center previously announced that Taiwan signed contracts to purchase about 20 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines: 10 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, 4.76 million doses from the global vaccine-sharing platform COVAX and 5.05 million doses of the Moderna vaccine. Late on Sunday evening, the center said that on Friday last week, it signed contracts with local vaccine makers Medigen Vaccine Biologics and United Biomedical for the advance purchase of 5 million doses from each. On Friday last week, the center announced the documentation that local governments and businesses need to apply for Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval to import COVID-19 vaccines. “They would still need to apply for emergency use authorization (EUA) from the FDA, so the vaccine sources must meet the FDA’s requirements and the technical documents would need to be reviewed,” Chen said.

COVID-19: Trade groups press to buy vaccinesSPECIAL TREATMENT: The trade groups asked that the government relax regulations that require vaccine deals to be made between the government and drugmakersBy Crystal Hsu / Staff reporterMajor trade groups yesterday called on the government to allow companies to buy COVID-19 vaccines on their own to help maintain global supply chains amid a local outbreak. A healthcare worker prepares a dose of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in Taipei on Friday. The trade groups also pushed for companies to have the freedom to vaccinate their employees after frontline workers and other at-risk people receive shots. Deregulation of vaccine imports would help take pressure off the government, which has had difficulty acquiring sufficient doses of vaccines, it added. “The ministry welcomes and is thankful for private companies seeking to obtain more vaccines,” the ministry said in a statement.

COVID-19: Unions call for direct aid payments to employeesBy Jason Pan / Staff reporterLabor union representatives yesterday called on the government to distribute COVID-19 relief funds directly to workers. They asked the Ministry of Labor to take charge of the process, and not to go through industry associations or trade unions, as done in the past. The government has raised the nationwide COVID-19 alert to level 3, which has led to commercial districts seeing few customers even on weekends. “Most of the affected people are part-time employees working at restaurants and retailers, many of whom are now out of work. They will not necessarily retain their original employees, but instead hire new workers,” Chu added.

TBB eyes growth despite COVID-19 outbreakBy Crystal Hsu / Staff reporterAn increase in domestic COVID-19 infections has had little impact on Taiwan Business Bank’s (TBB, 台灣企銀) operations, it said yesterday, adding that it expects stable growth in mortgage lending this year, despite credit controls aimed at cooling the real-estate market. The bank yesterday said it expects stable growth in mortgage lending this year, despite credit controls aimed at cooling the real-estate market. Although uncertainty linked to the virus crisis lingers, business and investment sentiment is picking up, TBB spokesman Chang Yo-ming (張佑銘) said. Meanwhile, bad loans grew by NT$100 million to NT$624 million due to COVID-19 relief loans, as all banks responded to the government’s call to support troubled companies, TBB said. TBB is to step up provisions for related financing as the government yesterday expanded the relief and subsidy program.

People whose national ID number ends with an even digit should visit wet markets on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, while people whose ID number ends with an odd digit should visit on Mondays, Wednesdays and Sundays, he said. A customer wearing a mask and goggles pays a vendor wearing mask, face shield and gloves at a traditional market in Taipei yesterday. Lin said that it is more important to limit the number of people in wet markets than that in hospitals. Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei TimesSeparately, Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) made a similar call, saying that if the overcrowding continues, the city government will have to shut the wet markets. In Taipei and New Taipei City, the epicenter of a COVID-19 outbreak, residents have been asked to avoid going to wet markets, but a mandatory rule has not been introduced.

COVID-19: CECC to subsidize local test centersSEARCH FOR PATIENTS: Local governments would be offered an equipment subsidy of NT$200,000, as well as NT$500 for each case, in addition to other financial incentivesBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterThe Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday announced subsidies for local governments that set up community-based COVID-19 testing stations, saying that it would also bolster the distribution of essential personal protective equipment (PPE). When choosing locations for testing stations, local governments should consider area case counts, hotspots visited by confirmed cases and areas with higher prevalence of infections, he said. As the local COVID-19 situation is serious, demand for PPEs has greatly increased, Chen said. The center has distributed more than 49 million medical-grade masks and other protective gear to healthcare facilities and local governments this month, he said. In addition to increasing the frequency of PPE deliveries to central government agencies, local governments and healthcare facilities, the CECC would also consider the number of quarantine hotels and confirmed cases, and distribute extra PPEs to local governments accordingly, it said.

Harsher fines for noisy vehicles to take effectSOUND POLLUTION: People who modify their vehicles to generate noise risk having their licenses suspended, while tailgaters would face fines of up to NT$24,000By Shelley Shan / Staff reporterThe Ministry of Transportation and Communications is tomorrow to start enforcing amendments to the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例), which stipulate harsher penalties for motorists who repeatedly remove mufflers from their vehicles or engage in dangerous driving behaviors such as tailgating. Stricter penalties would be imposed on motorists who repeatedly remove mufflers or use other methods to produce noise with their vehicles, the ministry said. The camera is designed to enhance road safety by allowing the driver to see what is in the vehicle’s blind spot. The suspension of their vehicle license plates would be extended from three months to six months, it added. Those who repeat the offense within one year of being issued a fine would have their driver’s license suspended for six months, up from three months, it added.

Medigen touts deal with CDC over 5m COVID-19 vaccinesBy Chen Cheng-hui / Staff reporterThe Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is to purchase 5 million doses of an experimental COVID-19 vaccine by Medigen Vaccine Biologics Corp (高端疫苗), the Hsinchu-based firm said in a regulatory filing yesterday. The procurement agreement also includes a subsequent purchase of up to 5 million more doses, Medigen said. The company did not disclose further details, citing terms agreed with the CDC. A Medigen Vaccine Biologics Corp worker handles the company’s experimental COVID-19 vaccine at a laboratory in the Hsinchu Biomedical Science Park on Aug. 30 last year. Photo: CNAThe delivery of the drug, pending approval, would have a positive effect on the firm’s finances and operations, it said.

COVID-19: People provide free meals to frontline medical personnel to show gratitudeBy Weng Lu-huang and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writerPeople have over the past few days been offering free drinks, snacks and meals to frontline medical personnel to express their gratitude for their hard work amid a surge in local COVID-19 infections. Cardinal Tien Hospital department of public relations director Hsueh Kuei-wen (薛桂文) on Saturday thanked the public on behalf of the New Taipei City hospital, saying the medical personnel have been encouraged by the public support. New Taipei City’s Yonghe District (永和) has been hit hard by the outbreak, but the hospital personnel have remained at their posts, Hsueh said. Separately, Taiwanese companies have made donations to Taipei and New Taipei City governments as medical facilities there have borne the brunt of the outbreak. Hotai Group donated NT$12 million to New Taipei City and Pxmart Co donated NT$10 million through the city’s Web site (https://goodday.ntpc.gov.tw/pwntpc/).

Another future for Taiwan’s energyInstead of debating current options, the nation should look at other options such as geothermal power and transnational energy gridsBy Michael Turton / Contributing reporterLast week saw two interesting developments in fossil fuels. These landmark developments remind us of the urgency of switching away from fossil fuels to a clean energy future. For Taiwan, geothermal power offers massive advantages over nuclear power. Ramping up geothermal technology and geothermal power investment would enable the island to develop a supercluster of firms that provide geothermal power systems, hardware, software, and power development services. What to do with all that excess energy, and the energy we could be getting from solar thermal and PV systems?

In 1967, the Yujing Farmers Association reported a whopping NT$300 million gross revenue (NT$2 billion today) from Irwin mangoes alone. Cheng Han-chih displays in this 2013 photo a children’s book detailing his life and his efforts to cultivate the Irwin mango. Photo: Liu Wan-chun, Taipei TimesCheng died on June 1, 2018, and his status as the “Father of Taiwan’s Irwin mangoes” was cemented a year later when the Tainan City government installed a plaque on a column in front of his former residence. Irwin mangoes were introduced to Taiwan from Florida in 1954. The commission tasked him with promoting the Irwin mango in 11 areas in southern Taiwan, including Yujing.

COVID-19: CECC to review effectiveness of level 3 virus alert‘TENSE’ SITUATION: Taipei would today run drills, test simulated scenarios and draft contingency plans to prepare for lockdowns as part of a level 4 virus alertStaff writer, with CNAThe Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) is this weekend reviewing the effectiveness of the level 3 COVID-19 alert and is to report its findings early this week, it said on Friday. The CECC would review the status of the outbreak in the coming days, and would likely report its conclusions to the public tomorrow or Tuesday, Chen said. Relatively few pedestrians and vehicles yesterday cross the normally busy Minquan W Road in Taipei, as restrictions imposed to contain the COVID-19 outbreak remain in effect. He made the remarks after Taipei on Friday announced that it would today hold drills to simulate a situation in which a level 4 alert was issued. “We have managed to flatten the curve in [outbreak hot spot] Wanhua District (萬華), but [the virus] is still slowly spreading in other districts,” he added.

COVID-19: More than 42,000 receive vaccinations on FridayGOOD INTENTIONS: Several corporations and religious groups have contacted the CECC to help procure jabs, with one group saying it would donate 500,000 shotsBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterMore than 42,000 people on Friday received a COVID-19 vaccine shot, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday, adding that 500 local clinics would become vaccination centers by next month, while 1,000 would offer jabs by August. A traffic police officer receives a COVID-19 vaccination in Tainan on Friday, as 1,300 vaccine doses were made available for the city’s police officers and firefighters. The center has received several offers from corporations or religious groups interested in procuring vaccines for Taiwan, Chen said, adding that the CECC was grateful. “The central government would also be responsible for the overall planning and distribution of the vaccines,” Chen said. Fosun has partnered with BioNTech to market and distribute the vaccine in China, Macau and Hong Kong.

COVID-19: CECC reports 486 coronavirus casesSTILL SPREADING: The daily case counts have not improved much and many cases had visited markets, so people should be especially vigilant, the health minister saidBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterThe Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported 320 locally transmitted COVID-19 infections, 166 backlogged cases and 21 deaths. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung displays daily confirmed COVID-19 case figures at a news conference at the Central Epidemic Command Center in Taipei yesterday. Among them, 36 had visited Taipei’s Wanhua District (萬華), two were linked to a cluster involving hostess teahouses in Wanhua, 158 cases had clear infection sources, while 49 cases had an unclear connection to previous cases and 241 were under investigation. Chuang yesterday said that of the 21 deaths reported yesterday, 19 had underlying health conditions, and of 87 deaths reported since May 11, three had died at home. Asked why one person died on Sunday, but their test result was only reported yesterday, Chuang said that when a person dies of COVID-19, the hospital conducts preliminary contact tracing before reporting the case to the CECC.