Taipei, June 8, (dpa/GNA) – Taiwan Premier Su Tseng-chang on Tuesday vowed to speed up the island’s mass vaccination plan against Covid-19 as coronavirus cases and related deaths continue to rise.
Su told lawmakers that so far Taiwan has obtained 2.11 million vaccine doses and the number should reach 10 million by the end of August.
“The government is ready for a large-scale vaccination programme,” Su said.
Taiwan on Tuesday announced 219 new domestically transmitted coronavirus cases and 22 related deaths.
The 22 deceased patients, who contracted the virus around mid-May or late May and then died in early June, include 15 men and seven women, aged from their 30s to over 100, according to the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC).
Since the pandemic began, Taiwan, an island of 23.6 million people, has confirmed a total of 11,694 infections, including 10,493 locally transmitted ones. As of Tuesday, 308 Covid-19 patients have died, including more than 290 since mid-May when Taiwan saw a surge of locally transmitted cases.
To lower the virus risk, the CECC on Tuesday urged tens of thousands of passengers to refund tickets booked for returning to their hometowns during the three-day Dragon Boat Festival break starting June 12.
GNA