People who get vaccinated against COVID-19 under a government-subsidized program would no longer have to pay administrative surcharges, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday.
The NT$300 (US$10.82) administration fee for the jabs would be waived from today, eliminating all out-of-pocket fees for government-funded COVID-19 vaccines, the center said.
On Saturday, the CECC said that the fee would not be covered by a NT$4 billion COVID-19 relief budget approved last week.
Part of the funding would be allocated to local governments for setting vaccine sites, it said.
Taipei and New Taipei City offer the subsidized jabs to medical workers, epidemic prevention workers and
NT$300 FEE NIXED: The jabs are available for medical staff nationwide, as well as other workers at higher risk of exposure to the virus in Taipei and New Taipei CityBy Wu Su-wei, Wang Chun-chi and Jake Chung / Staff reporters, with staff writer and CNA
Executive Yuan raises relief fund to NT$630 billion
By Jonathan Chin / Staff writer, with CNA
The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a draft bill to expand a COVID-19 stimulus package, increasing its spending limit from NT$420 billion to NT$630 billion (US$15 billion to US$22.5 billion) and extending it to June 30 next year.
The bill is pending legislative review, and if it is not passed before the end of this month, lawmakers would have to convene a special session to pass the stimulus expansion.
Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) approved the bill at a Cabinet meeting, Executive Yuan spokesman Lo Ping-cheng (羅秉成) told a news conference.
Passport applications nearly double with new design
By Lu Yi-hsuan and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writer
Passport applications have nearly doubled since the release of a new design in January, with more than 90,000 applications received since then, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.
The ministry on Jan. 11 released a new passport design that removed the English-language words “Republic of China” from the cover but retained the Chinese-language equivalent and featured the word “Taiwan” more prominently.
Following the global outbreak of COVID-19 last year, which restricted international travel, the number of passport applications dropped to about 800 per day, but that number has grown to an average of 1,354 per day since the ministry began issuing the new passport, it said.
Cycling tours beckon post-pandemic tourism era
By Hsiao Yu-hsin / Staff reporter
More than 1,000 hotels are expected to be certified as cyclist-friendly accommodation by the end of this year as they eye business opportunities brought by the “Year of Cycling Tourism,” the Tourism Bureau said yesterday.
The bureau said it has designated this year the “Year of Cycling Tourism” as the government focuses on creating innovative domestic tours in the post-COVID-19 era.
“We are promoting the concept of ‘cyclist-friendly accommodation’ to 3,000 hotels along 16 main biking routes. Hoteliers can apply for certification if they have parking spaces for bicycles, as well as cleaning and maintenance facilities,” the bureau said.