Taiwan will extend its coronavirus restrictions for another two weeks with more prevention measures as the island continues to grapple with a sudden spike in cases, the Cabinet announced Monday.

The current Level 3 epidemic alert, one level short of a full lockdown, will remain in place until June 28, Cabinet spokesman Lo Ping-cheng said, adding that all schools will remain closed until the summer vacation as the current outbreak has yet to stabilize.

A coronavirus test is conducted in New Taipei City on June 4, 2021. (Central News Agency/Kyodo)

Since the capital Taipei and New Taipei City raised their epidemic alert to Level 3 on May 15, the island has continued to see hundreds of new cases each day.

As of Monday, the total number of confirmed cases was 11,491, including 286 deaths.

The Level 3 alert was issued for all of Taiwan on May 19.

Under the heightened state of alert, all schools, public places and religious venues have been closed, while restaurants can only do take-outs.

Wearing masks outdoors is mandatory, while gatherings of more than five people indoors or 10 people outdoors are prohibited.

More measures were announced Monday, such as strengthening the cleaning and disinfection of public areas and mass transportation systems. Businesses are encouraged to let employees work from home or with flexible schedules.

As the three-day holiday of the Dragon Boat Festival will begin on Saturday, President Tsai Ing-wen also urged the public to cancel their return-home tickets and stay home to avoid cluster infections.


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