Day: March 20, 2022

Taiwan reported 121 new COVID-19 cases — three domestically transmitted and 118 that originated abroad — and no new deaths from the disease on Sunday, according to the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC).

The three new domestic cases were residents of Taipei, Chiayi County, and Tainan, CECC spokesperson Chuang Jen-hsiang (???) said in a pre-recorded video.

The residents of Taipei and Chiayi County are both connected to a cluster involving a wedding held in Chiayi City on March 13, bringing the number of cases recorded in the cluster to six.

Of the six, five were guests at the wedding, while one is a relative of one of the guests, Chuang said.

The CECC is still looking into the source of the cluster, he added.

The third domestic case tested positive in quarantine, and her infection is related to a cluster of unknown origin in which the first reported case was a buffet restaurant employee in Kaohsiung.

The cluster has recorded 29 cases to date, according to Chuang.

Currently, the CECC is monitoring five domestic clusters and three individual cases, all of unknown origin, in Taiwan.

Genome sequencing conducted on patients in three clusters and one individual case found that they were infected with two different versions of the Omicron variant, CECC data shows.

Two of the domestic cases reported Sunday had received three COVID-19 vaccine shots, while the third was unvaccinated.

In addition to the three new domestic cases, the CECC also reported 118 imported cases on Sunday, including 64 travelers who tested positive on arrival in Taiwan. The CECC did not release any information regarding the vaccination status of the imported cases.

To date, Taiwan has confirmed 21,905 COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began in early 2020, including 15,503 domestically transmitted infections.

With no deaths reported Sunday, the number of confirmed COVID-19 fatalities in the country remains at 853.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel

Taiwan’s top research institute, Academia Sinica, will offer scholarships to Ukrainian students and scholars, allowing them to stay in the country for at least three months amid an ongoing Russian invasion of their country.

The Taiwan Scholarship Program for Ukrainian Students and Scholars began accepting applications from March 16, the research institute said in an online announcement that same day. Applications are open until further notice.

The program is open to Ukrainian nationals who are either undergraduate, master, or PhD students, as well as Ukrainian scholars with a PhD degree in the fields of humanities and social sciences, mathematics, and physical sciences, and life sciences.

According to Academia Sinica, the program will accept 15 scholars and an undisclosed number of students from Ukraine. Those who are interested in applying can visit the English-language webpage at https://institution.pan.pl/index.php/759-academia-sinica-taiwan-scholarships-for-ukrainian-students.

The program will cover the cost of round-trip flight tickets and accommodations, and provide a living expenses subsidy of NT$15,000 (US$528.70) per month for undergraduate students, and NT$20,000 a month for master and PhD students.

For scholars, the living expenses subsidy will be NT$66,950 a month, according to Academia Sinica.

The duration of the program is set at three months with the possibility of extensions.

The program is co-sponsored by Taiwan’s Ministry of Science and Technology.

The scholarship announcement was made after Academia Sinica had earlier said in a March 10 statement that it objected to “any and all acts of violence that destroy world peace and violate human rights.”

“At this point in time, our chief concern is the safety of Ukrainian scholars and students. We hereby call on the worldwide community to do its utmost in supporting them. It is our sincere hope that all of us can strive to restore world peace and the rules-based international order,” it said.

Taiwan’s government announced early last week that it was considering allowing Ukrainian students and scholars to come to Taiwan for temporary stays, as part of the government’s efforts to assist refugees from the eastern European country.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on March 11 that Ukrainian nationals could apply to visit Taiwan if they had relatives in the country who were either Taiwan nationals or held local residency.

Currently, there are over 200 Ukrainians with residency in Taiwan.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel

Taiwan men’s badminton ace Chou Tien-chen (???) lost to world No. 1 Viktor Axelsen of Denmark in straight sets in the men’s singles semifinal at the All England Open on Saturday.

Fourth seed and world No. 4 Chou was no match for top seed Axelsen, losing 21-13, 21-15, in 48-minutes, at the prestigious Super 1000 tournament in Birmingham, England, which carries a total purse of US$1 million.

The defeat brought the head-to-head between Axelsen and the 32-year-old Chou to 14-2 in the Dane’s favor.

Chou was runner up at the 2020 All England Open, the best ever performance by any male shuttler from Taiwan in the event.

Axelsen’s opponent in the final will be Lakshya Sen of India after the 20-year-old ousted defending champion Lee Zii Jia from Malaysia 21-13, 12-21, 21-19 earlier in the day.

Meanwhile, in the women’s singles, world champion Akane Yamaguchi from Japan faces 20-year-old South Korean An Seyoung in the final. An defeated Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying (???) earlier Saturday in straight sets, 21-19, 21-13.

Founded in 1899, the All England Open is the world’s oldest badminton tournament.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel