Taiwan struggling to secure vaccines as cases start to surge

TAIPEI: A surge of coronavirus infections in Taiwan, one of the world’s Covid19 mitigation success stories, has left it scrambling to get vaccines as its stock of 300,000 doses starts running out with only about 1% of its 23 million people vaccinated.

Taiwan has been a model of how to control the pandemic and life had carried on almost as normal with none of the lockdowns and overwhelmed hospitals seen elsewhere, thanks largely to effective case tracking and closed borders.

But over the past week it has reported more than 700 domestic cases, out of a total of 2017 infections recorded since the pandemic began.

There have been 12 deaths.

Tough restrictions have been imposed in the capital, Taipei, for the first time.

Taiwan has begun vaccinations and has 20 million shots on order, but it has received only about 300,000 shots to date.

Friends will hug, pints will be pulled and swathes of the British economy will reopen today, giving 65 million people a measure of freedom after the gloom of a fourmonth lockdown.

The biggest public health crisis in a century was accompanied by a drastic extension of state power; during lockdowns police broke up parties and protests alike, shut down religious services and handed out fines of up to £10,000 ($NZ19,540) to youngsters for partying.

‘‘I shall be hugging literally everyone I can get my hands on,’’ British actress Joanna Lumley told The Telegraph newspaper.

‘‘I shall snatch babies from their mothers, and lean over Zimmer frames.

‘‘I shall hug girls at the till, the picture framer, and lads playing footie in the park. Much later obviously I shall be hugging police personnel as I am charged at the station. Huggermugger, that’s me.’’

But there is also anxiety. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who before he imposed three national lockdowns had railed against the ‘‘nanny’’ tendencies of the British state, advised people to cuddle cautiously and served notice that the spread of the coronavirus variant first identified in India meant that the final United Kingdom reopening next month could be delayed. India has reported a further decline in new coronavirus cases though daily deaths remain above 4000.

For months now, nowhere in the world has been hit harder than India by the pandemic, as a new strain of the virus first found there fuelled a surge in infections that has risen to more than 400,000 daily.

Experts said there was no certainty infections had peaked, with alarm growing over the new more contagious B.1.617 variant taking hold.