Taiwan will extend its Level 3 COVID alert for another two weeks until June 28. The alert, which was originally to expire June 14, carries rules like mandatory mask-wearing outside the home. Also on Monday, the education ministry said that all schools will stay shut through to the end of the semester. College entrance exams will be postponed to July 28 to 30, affecting 41,000 students.
Pan Wen-chung
Education minister
As of yesterday, a total of 430 students have contracted COVID-19. To lower the risk involved with gatherings, we’re keeping schools closed at all levels across the country, including public and private kindergartens and cram schools, until the end of the semester on July 2. After that, students will go straight into summer vacation. As for the college entrance exams originally scheduled for July 3 to 5, following an overall assessment of the epidemic, we have decided to postpone the exams to July 28 to 30. When planning for the postponed exams, we will adopt the highest standards, for example by reducing the number of people allowed in each room, halving it to 20 test-takers per room to allow at least 1.5 meters of social distancing. In addition, I want to thank the Central Epidemic Command Center for giving vaccine priority to examination personnel.
The Central Epidemic Command Center announced 211 new local cases on Monday, the fewest in three weeks. But the health minister said the low figure may be due to reduced test capacity or testing turnout on weekends. He urged the public to stay resolved to tackle the epidemic, even when the numbers look encouraging.
