Taipei City Government

With domestic cases hitting an all-time high and more than 1 cluster appearing in the Greater Taipei Area, Taipei City Government announced that it is immediately entering a “Quasi-level 3” stage for pandemic prevention during a press conference on May 12.
 
The mayor stated that the report of 16 domestic cases in a day sets a new record, and this is probably the most serious challenge for Taiwan up to this point in the fight against COVID-19. There is a need to escalate measures, but going directly into Level 3 will create a severe impact on people’s daily life. That is why the city government will take a gradual approach to tighten regulations. Currently, Taipei’s pandemic prevention efforts include:
 

1. All city-sponsored activities taking place before June 8 are cancelled. Real Name-based Registration mechanism will be enforced, starting with city hall building. Visitors will need to provide either their ID card, TaipeiPASS QRCode, or other certified ID documents – city worker ID or student ID – for scanning and registration upon entry. Other city-affiliated agencies will follow suit.
2. The Department of Health will supervise hospitals to implement strict segregation measures and to reserve bed spaces for emergency use.
3. Another 200 beds will be added to quarantine hotel capacity to boost quarantine room availability.

 
Deputy Mayor Huang provided more details on the Quasi-level 3 measures:
 

1. All city-sponsored activities slated to take place before June 8 are cancelled.
2. In addition to real name-based access control at city hall, the city government will also activate its alternate workplace mechanism which has been tested last year.
3. Taipei City Hospital Heping Branch will implement segregation measures thoroughly (complete separation of COVID patients and regular patients) and reorganize medical supply storage space to provide extra room for 77 beds.
4. All public venues affiliated and run by the Department of Civil Affairs will not be available for rental and all activities suspended. It also recommends organizers to suspend religious activities. Community service station activities will be suspended, and senior citizen service centers will be closed.
5. Large-scale education abilities will be cancelled. Exams and auditions (such as the upcoming teacher audition) will comply with central government regulations, provided that the total number of people in the classroom is less than 100. Regarding quarantine cabs, the city government will work on expanding the number of taxis to ensure adequate volume in the case of increased demand in the future. The city government will also assist quarantine taxi drivers by waiving their registration fee for vaccine shots. The city government is also considering the possibility of setting up quarantine buses in the event of large number of people requiring quarantine.
6. All sports event under the Sports Department are either postponed or cancelled.
7. The Department of Information and Tourism is working with quarantine hotel operators to prepare an additional 200 quarantine rooms for future use.

 
Regarding details of the two confirmed cases in Wanhua District, Deputy Mayor Huang remarked that the city government immediately carried out district-wide disinfection operation at 2 PM after receiving notification. Due to the nature of work of the confirmed cases, contact tracing effort has encountered some challenges. It will take some more time to obtain further details, she noted.