TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwan reported 333 domestically transmitted COVID-19 cases Monday, in the island’s largest outbreak since the start of the pandemic.
Local governments ordered the closure of all schools in the capital for two weeks starting Tuesday. The largescale school closure is a first for the island, which has otherwise been a success story, keeping infections and deaths low. It has counted 2,017 confirmed cases and 12 deaths throughout the pandemic.
Of Monday’s new cases, 158 were in Taipei and 148 were found in neighboring New Taipei city, Health minister Chen Shih-chung said at a news briefing Monday afternoon.
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HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:
NEW DELHI — For the first time in weeks, India’s daily cases dropped below 300,000, continuing a decline as the country battles a ferocious surge of COVID-19.
The health ministry said around 280,000 cases and 4,106 deaths were confirmed in the last 24 hours. Both numbers are almost certainly undercounts.
India’s overall vaccination efforts are also struggling. Ever since the country opened vaccinations to all adults this month, the pace of administering doses has plunged, with many states saying they don’t have enough stock to give out. Over the last month, cases have tripled and deaths have jumped by six times — but vaccinations have dropped by 40%.
The southern state of Karnataka has suspended vaccinations for the 18-44 age group in government-run centers, and a number of states are looking into directly getting shots from overseas to fill a domestic shortage. On Sunday, health officials said around 5 million doses will be sent to the states this week.
India has the second-highest caseload after the U.S. with more than 24 million confirmed infections and over 270,000 fatalities.
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BEIJING — China is instituting new controls in a northeastern province where several new cases of COVID-19 are believed to have originated.
China on Monday reported five new cases of local transmission, all in Liaoning province or believed to be linked to its cases.
Checkpoints were set up at toll stations, airports and railway stations in three cities in Liaoning and travelers must have proof of a recent negative virus test, according to state media reports Monday. Mass testing was ordered in part of Yingkou, a port city with shipping connections to more than 40 countries.
China had largely stamped out domestic transmission of the coronavirus through restrictions on the public, contact tracing, mass testing and, increasingly, vaccinations. Health officials suspect the domestic cases may have spread through contacts with an imported case.
China has reported 90,872 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 4,636 deaths since the virus was detected in Wuhan in late 2019.
Image: People wear face masks to protect against the spread of the coronavirus and walk past Taipei 101 building after the COVID-19 alert raise to level 3 in Taipei, Taiwan, Saturday, May 15, 2021. Taiwan, which has had enviable success in containing COVID-19, imposed new restrictions in its capital city on Saturday as it battled its worst outbreak since the pandemic began. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)
