The number of cases in the coronavirus cluster outbreak connected to a Taoyuan hospital has now increased to 15.
One case was a patient at the hospital, the other a relative of that patient.
A record 5000 people have been isolated to avoid COVID-19 transmission, and in Taoyuan city officials estimate 13,000 people will need to be placed under quarantine.
The Liberty Times ran with a headline CNA translated as 50,000 people likely to be subject to home quarantine in run up to Lunar New Year holiday, though it should be noted that it is estimated that 40,000 people will be returning to Taiwan during that period, and all will need to be quarantined.
Hotel and banquet bookings are being cancelled in large numbers.
Taiwan recorded its first population drop in modern history last year, decreasing by nearly 42,000 people to just over 23,560,000.
The population has now returned to the level of 2017.
However, Taoyuan in northern Taiwan registered the largest population growth among the six special municipalities in the country in 2020, as people migrate from the country to the city, and Taipei residents flee to find cheaper housing.
According to a Ministry of Labor survey, 71.2 percent of respondents were largely satisfied with their jobs for the period surveyed.
Gender equality at work was the aspect employees were most satisfied with, cited by 97.8 percent of those who expressed overall job satisfaction.
This was followed by good working relationships with colleagues, cited by 95.5 percent.
The major sources of job dissatisfaction were employee performance evaluation and promotion systems, cited by 74.6 percent of respondents, followed by wages at 66.4 percent and workload at 57.1 percent.
Chilly Chen (陳峻涵), the director of the Taiwan Republic Office, has been ordered confined to his home after throwing eggs at the Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) statue in the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall.
Chen said his actions were in protest of comments made by Minister of Culture Lee Yung-te (李永得), who on Wednesday said he did not support the removal of the statue, as protesters seeking to get rid of the sculpture have been taking “a more moderate approach.”
The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office ordered Chen to remain in his residence for allegedly contravening the Cultural Heritage Protection Act.
All central and local government agencies have been ordered to list all of the China-made information security products they are using by the end of this month and replace them by the end of this year as part of the government’s efforts to prevent the leaking of sensitive government information.
Faced with a global shortage of automotive chips, the Ministry of Economic Affairs has been in talks with local chipmakers to address the problem.
Various countries, including Germany, have reached out to the ministry to help solve the issue.
The Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER) has revised its economic growth forecast for Taiwan in 2021 to a roaring 4.3 percent, up 0.29 percentage points from its previous projection in November.
Local industrial production last month grew 5.22 percent month-on-month and 9.9 percent year-on-year, resulting in production last year increasing 6.81 percent from 2019.
It was also the 11th straight month of growth.
The Department of Statistics Deputy Director-General said “Production in the electronic components and electronic goods categories were up by double-digit percentage points for the year, while output at traditional industries mostly declined along with the global economy.”
Retail sales rose to a record NT$3.86 trillion last year.
The theory is that with people staying home and border controls in place, people increased their local spending.
A SpaceX rocket carrying two Taiwanese satellites has successfully lifted off from Cape Canaveral.
After a three-day delay caused by safety inspections and weather issues, the Flying Squirrel and Yushan satellites were successfully launched into orbit.
The People’s Liberation Army Air Force launched 27 planes into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone over the weekend.
I discussed this in more depth on the last Taiwan Report News Brief.
Taiwan expelled nearly 4,000 Chinese vessels illegally dredging sand from its waters in 2020.
Up to November last year, it expelled 3,969 vessels, compared to 600 in 2019 and 71 in 2018.
Taiwan’s representative to the United States Hsiao Bi-khim is in home quarantine because she was one of three people who had contact with a staff member infected with COVID-19 at her office.
She is in good health and is working from home.
Wikipedia commons image courtesy of Gqqnb
