Taiwan says too early to talk of lockdown, but "no optimism" over COVID trends

TAIPEI: Taiwan's health minister said on Thursday it was still too early to talk about needing to raise the alert level and go into a full lockdown, but the spike in COVID-19 infections on island gave him no reason for optimism.

Taiwan has been model for how to control the pandemic, but its increase in domestic infections, though not exploding, has alarmed the government, which has limited gatherings and closed entertainment venues. The government is also dealing with delays in reporting test results, which has led to it revising its total numbers on a daily basis.