Taiwan has extended its Level 3 COVID restrictions for another two weeks, to July 12. This means masks will continue to be mandatory outside the home, and nonessential businesses will need to stay closed. There will continue to be a ban on indoor gatherings of more than four people, and outdoor gatherings of more than nine.
Health minister Chen Shih-chung said on Wednesday that Taiwan''s COVID epidemic has shown signs of improvement, but has yet to reach the criteria for easing restrictions.


Chen Shih-chung
Health minister
The main reason is that although the overall trend has improved during this period of time, the situation has not yet met the standards we wanted. So we’re extending the alert for another two weeks. If we all practice restraint for a while longer, and we all do our bit, we may be able to return to more stable situation after July 12.


The health minister reported 104 new local infections and 24 COVID-related deaths. He said there are multiple COVID clusters across the country, including at nursing homes, hospitals, and Taipei''s fruit and vegetable wholesale markets. The government has plans to expand COVID testing, so as to bring viral transmission under control.