Having managed the pandemic with powerful border controls and quarantines, Taiwan has been coping with a surge in home infections for the reason that begin of this yr, with some 75,000 infections pushed by the Omicron variant.
However with greater than 99% of these having gentle or no signs, a handful of deaths up to now and excessive vaccination ranges, the federal government has moved to ease restrictions because it seeks normalcy and to progressively reopen the island of 23 million folks to the skin world.
Taiwan’s big neighbour China, against this, has enacted powerful lockdowns in Shanghai and tightened controls in capital Beijing.
Talking throughout a go to to Taiwan’s Centres for Illness Management, Su stated their pandemic-containment measures had been “praised by the world”.
“We won’t lock down the nation and cities as cruelly as China,” he stated, including Taiwan’s strategies had been “gradual”.
“We’ve got a plan, and there’s a rhythm to it.”
China claims democratically ruled Taiwan as its personal territory, and the 2 have not often missed a possibility to trade barbs throughout the pandemic.
Final week, China’s Taiwan Affairs Workplace stated Taiwan’s new mannequin of dealing with the pandemic would result in many deaths.
Life has continued largely as regular in Taiwan, although there was disruption to some faculties, and the federal government is eyeing additional easing of quarantine guidelines.
All arrivals into Taiwan should isolate for 10 days, guidelines that giant elements of Asia have already ditched.