TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The head of the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) on Thursday (Feb. 10) said that quarantines will not be shortened until booster vaccine coverage reaches 50%.

During a press conference on Thursday, reporters asked CECC head Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) if the 14-day quarantine for arrivals from overseas could be shortened to 10 days in March, given the recent rise in COVID cases. Chen said that unless there are major changes in the outbreak in the future, the "original plan" will be followed, but stressed that this will depend on the vaccine coverage rate, especially whether the percentage of booster shots reaches a certain level.

Chen said the goal is to reach a 50% booster coverage rate by early March. In addition, he emphasized overall epidemic prevention is "safe and assured." He explained that safety depends on scientific data, while "assured" depends on the "social climate and mental preparation."

A reporter then mentioned an estimate by an infectious disease expert that if Taiwan were to fully open its borders in the same way as Europe and the U.S., 50 to 100 people would die per day from the virus. Chen responded by saying that it would depend on conditions in which the borders were opened, "if the ban is lifted, it must be done on the premise of scientific safety and that the people feel assured."

Chen stressed that the borders will not be opened without first making careful arrangements. A member of the media then asked if it will be possible to lift all border restrictions by the second half of the year to enable people to travel abroad "with peace of mind."

Chen said that lifting border restrictions and traveling with peace of mind are two different things. "As long as the international pandemic is severe, people will not be able to travel abroad with peace of mind," said Chen.

As for the situation with the outbreak in Taiwan in the second half of the year, Chen said that it is hard to predict. He pointed out that 100 million were infected the first year of the pandemic, double that number the second year, and after the Omicron variant emerged another 100 million were infected in one month.

Chen noted that since the outbreak of the Omicron variant, more than 500,000 people around the world have died from the disease. Although the number of infected cases is far higher than the number of deaths, "the death toll of 500,000 is not small. Yesterday alone, the death toll was 12,000."

He noted that the number of new cases in Asia is continuing to rise on a daily basis, which shows that the pandemic is very difficult to predict, "so we have to do to it step by step."

Regarding Taipei City's plans to loosen some COVID restrictions next week, such as the opening of graduation trips and off-campus teaching, Chen said that the CECC will not object to the implementation of local measures within the parameters of the Level 2 epidemic prevention alert.