TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) head Victor Wang (王必勝) said the Cabinet on Thursday (Sept. 22) will discuss the launch of the new "0 + 7" scheme, and he anticipates that it will be put into effect early October.

During an interview with BaoDao Radio host Clara Chou (周玉蔻) on Thursday, Wang said the new "0 + 7" program will be implemented in early October. However, when pressed to provide a precise date, Wang said that the exact date may not be announced until later, and it will depend on the assessed trend with the local COVID epidemic.

Wang said that the center had originally expected that the outbreak would reach its peak this week or next week. If the number of confirmed cases drops three days in a row, Wang said that it may be presumed that the peak has been reached.

The CECC head said once cases start trending downward, the country can open its borders with the "0 + 7" plan, where inbound passengers no longer need to undergo quarantine and instead will need to carry out seven days of self-health monitoring.

Wang noted that the case trend will need to be observed for another week. Restrictions on people undergoing self-health monitoring, dining out, and using public transportation may also be substantially eased.