The recent outbreak of Covid-19 cases in Taiwan has led the island to intensify its vaccination and screening policy, particularly within its semiconductor manufacturing plants for fear of a worsening global shortage of these precious components.
In Hsinchu, a town in the north of the island, where the world’s largest semiconductor manufacturer, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) is located, the authorities very quickly opened coronavirus testing centers.
“Hsinchu Science Park is one of the most successful semiconductor factories in the world,” the mayor of this city, Lin Chih-chien, told AFP.
“Hsinchu must not only protect its inhabitants but also the headquarters of the most important semiconductor companies on the planet.”
Semiconductor foundries are trying to meet the boom in global demand for components for computers and other electronic devices that has skyrocketed since the pandemic.
The factories, large consumers of water, are operating at full speed even though the island is experiencing its worst drought in decades.
Taiwan is experiencing a recent surge in Covid-19 cases and the authorities are working to identify as quickly as possible, in this technology sector, the epidemic centers in order to curb any spread of the virus.
The Hsinchu City Medical Association said it has deployed some 120 doctors to carry out screening tests and plans to open four vaccination centers in the coming days.
For a long time, Taiwan was set up as a model of good pandemic management, recording only a few hundred cases and less than ten deaths linked to the coronavirus.
In recent weeks, the number of cases has jumped and the toll now stands at around 10,000 contaminations and 166 deaths after the virus was spread via airline pilots.
The government has since implemented very strict social distancing measures, including the closure of public places and schools, until June 14.
It also intends to launch a vast vaccination campaign in the coming months with the opening of thousands of centers whose objective will be to administer a million doses each week, provided that their number is sufficient.
So far, Taiwan – which has a population of 23.5 million – has only received around 726,000 doses of AstraZeneca’s vaccine and 150,000 doses of Moderna.
The island has pre-ordered some 30 million additional doses from a large number of foreign and local laboratories.
aw/jta/teacher/esp
ASTRAZENECA
TSMC – TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING COMPANY
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