JERUSALEM: Israeli nationalist hardliner Naftali Bennett said on Sunday (May 30) that he would join a potential coalition government that could end the rule of the country's longest-serving leader, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Lawmakers opposed to right-wing Netanyahu have been in intense talks ahead of a Wednesday deadline, as a ceasefire held following the latest deadly military conflict with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Netanyahu, 71, who faces trial on fraud, bribery and breach of trust charges, which he denies, has clung to power throughout a period of political turmoil that has seen four inconclusive elections in under two years.
A March vote saw Netanyahu's Likud party gain the most seats, but he again failed to form a government.
Opposition leader and former TV anchor Yair Lapid now has until Wednesday evening to build a rival coalition.
Lapid, 57, is seeking a diverse alliance which the Israeli media has dubbed a bloc for "change", which would include Bennett as well as Arab-Israeli lawmakers.
In his determination to bring down the hawkish prime minister, Lapid has offered to share power and let Bennett, 49, serve the first term in a rotating premiership.
Bennett, after meeting members of his religious-nationalist Yamina party, said on Sunday: "I will do everything to form a national unity government with my friend Yair Lapid."
Lapid and Bennett's parties started talks on Sunday night to formalise the deal, they said in a statement.
Religious-nationalist Yamina won seven seats in Mar 23 elections, but one member has refused to join an anti-Netanyahu coalition.
Netanyahu, who has been in office for 12 consecutive years after an earlier three-year term, in his own televised address minutes later lashed out at the plan, calling it "a danger for the security of Israel".
He had earlier on Sunday tried to cling to power by offering his own, last-ditch power-sharing agreement to several former allies including Bennett.
He warned that Israel would otherwise be ruled by a dangerous "left-wing" alliance.
Lapid has until 11.59 pm local time on Wednesday (4.59am on Thursday, Singapore time) to build a coalition of at least 61 deputies, a majority in the 120-seat Knesset.
A Lapid government would also include the centrist Blue and White party of Netanyahu's rival Benny Gantz and the hawkish New Hope party of his former ally Gideon Saar.
Avigdor Lieberman's pro-settlement Yisrael Beitenu party as well as historically powerful Labour and the dovish Meretz party would also join.
The shaky arrangement would need the backing of some Arab-Israeli lawmakers of Palestinian descent in order to pass a confirmation vote in parliament.
The intense talks follow weeks of escalating tensions between Israel and the Palestinians, including a deadly 11-day exchange of rocket fire from Gaza and devastating Israeli airstrikes.
The war with Hamas that ended with a May 21 truce, as well as violence in the occupied West Bank and in mixed Jewish-Arab towns in Israel, initially appeared to leave Netanyahu more likely to hold onto power.
But political scientist Gayil Talshir at Hebrew University told AFP on Sunday that Israel was now "closer than ever" to a coalition of change, adding: "Netanyahu is in a desperate position."
Netanyahu's Likud party won 30 seats in the March elections, but failed to form a governing coalition after his far-right partners refused to sit with Arab factions or receive their support.
Lapid, whose party won 17 seats, was then given four weeks to form a government.
Netanyahu had previously pushed for yet another election - Israel's fifth in a little more than two years.
On Sunday, Netanyahu offered his own proposal of a rotation agreement with Bennett and Saar. But Saar on Twitter said that he remained committed to "replacing the Netanyahu regime".
Netanyahu in a video then called on Saar and Bennett to "come now, immediately" to meet him and join a three-way rotation government, warning that they were in a "crucial moment for the security, character and future of the state of Israel".
Lapid's "change" coalition also still faced several obstacles.
Some right-wing lawmakers object to a partnership with politicians from Israel's Arab minority, who make up about a fifth of the population.
The recent Gaza conflict sparked inter-communal clashes between Jewish and Arab Israelis in mixed cities.
Arab politicians have also been divided about joining a government headed by Bennett, who supports expanding Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, where Palestinians hope to create a state.
Even with support from an Arab party, a new coalition in Israel is unlikely to reverse years of Israeli settlement construction or bring peace any time soon with Hamas in Gaza.
If the anti-Netanyahu camp does not manage to form a government on time, a majority of 61 lawmakers could vote to ask the president to name a new premier.
Another scenario would see the country return, yet again, to the polls.
PETALING JAYA (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Malaysian doctors will be forced to make the tough call over which patient should be given a bed in the intensive care unit (ICU) because of the sharp rise in Covid-19 cases, the Health Ministry said on Sunday (May 30).
Health director-general, Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, said if active Covid-19 cases exceed the capacity of the healthcare facilities in the country, doctors will have to prioritise ICU beds.
"The Health Ministry has warned of possible scenarios in which doctors would have to make the difficult choice to prioritise ICU beds for patients with a high recovery potential over patients with low recovery potential (poor prognosis).
"This is a difficult situation that we are all facing and the Health Ministry would like to call on all parties to work together," he said in a joint press conference with Senior Minister (Security) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
Dr Noor Hisham said the numbers of available beds in ICUs, Covid-19 hospitals, as well as quarantine and treatment centres, were declining because of rapidly rising cases.
The usage of ICU beds for Covid-19 patients was now at 104 per cent capacity, with 1,113 beds in use, while Covid-19 hospital beds have reached 85 per cent capacity, with 10,190 patients currently hospitalised.
As for Covid-19 quarantine and treatment centres, beds were now at 65 per cent capacity, with 27,183 beds in use while ventilators were at 60 per cent, with 2,138 total being used, of which 39 per cent were for Covid-19 patients.
He added that the Health Ministry has taken the initiative to increase the number of beds in Covid-19 hospitals and Covid-19 hybrid hospitals by repurposing certain spaces in the hospitals into ICU units.
"The Kepala Batas Hospital Field ICU, as well as the proposed temporary takeover of the UKM Children's Hospital, are also among the steps we are taking to increase ICU capacity.
"We are also collaborating with NGOs that are offering medical assistance to open more ICUs in areas that need them," he said, adding that the lack of manpower is posing a major challenge to the ministry.
Dr Noor Hisham also said the Health Ministry has increased the quarantine period for travellers arriving from overseas.
The quarantine period for five high-risk countries such as India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh has been extended to 21 days.
He also said Malaysia might be able to flatten the Covid-19 curve in three to four months, but this will require cooperation from the public to adhere to the standard operating procedures.
An accelerated vaccination drive would also be vital to slow the infection curve.
He said with the rise of new variants of concern (VOC), the two-week total lockdown starting Tuesday was necessary to reduce the number of cases and give front-liners much needed breathing room.
Infectious diseases experts say the move will help to protect front-line staff at the airport and could help to ease the load on Singapore's healthcare system, which has had to deal with a spike in community cases in recent weeks.
But they also note the measure has its limitations and implementing it is not as straightforward as it seems. At least one legal expert has raised the issue of the constitutionality of the new requirement with the Government.
New requirements
The Ministry of Health (MOH) said last Wednesday that, from 11.59pm on Saturday, all Singaporeans and PRs returning to the country will have to present a valid negative Covid-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test taken within 72 hours before their departure.
This is the first time MOH has required Singaporeans and PRs to take a pre-departure test.
The ministry had previously said it did not want to make it difficult for them to return home, should they be caught unprepared by rapidly deteriorating pandemic conditions abroad.
The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority's (ICA) SafeTravel website says those travelling by plane or by boat will have to present their test result at the air and sea checkpoints upon arrival in Singapore.
Those who have stayed in lower-risk areas, including Australia, Brunei, China, Hong Kong, Macau and New Zealand, for the last 21 days are exempted.
Children aged six and below are also exempted from the new requirement.
At land checkpoints, only PRs entering Singapore will need to present a valid, negative test result.
PRs who arrive in Singapore overland without a valid, negative test result may be denied entry. Those who fail to comply with the new requirement may have their entry or re-entry permit cancelled.
Travellers must be tested by an accredited or authorised health centre in the country or region of departure.
Documentary proof is required and ICA recommends that travellers ask for a copy of the PCR test report that is in English or accompanied by an English translation, contains the traveller's name, date of birth and passport number, and shows the date and result of the test.
Anxiety over testing
Mr Fin Chua, 30, who has been living in Thailand for eight years, planned to fly back to Singapore next week to visit his father who lives alone.
After hearing about the pre-departure test requirement, the business owner considered moving his flight earlier so he could return before the measure kicked in.
Ultimately, Mr Chua did not do so. Instead, he moved his flight back by two weeks to mid-June, citing the lengthy 21-day stay-home notice he would have to serve if he came back home now.
Mr Chua feels that the new requirement is onerous as it is not easy getting a Covid-19 PCR test in Bangkok .
He said a PCR test in the Thai capital costs about 2,000 baht (S$85) at a government clinic and 4,000 baht at a government hospital, but it is hard for foreigners to get tested as Thais get priority.
The wait to get tested at the clinics can take hours, he said, unless one pays more to join a priority queue which means a wait time of 15 to 30 minutes.
A PCR test in Bangkok costs about 2,000 baht (S$85) at a government clinic and 4,000 baht at a government hospital, but it is hard for foreigners to get tested as Thais get priority. PHOTO: EPA-EFE
Ms Cheryl Wong, 30, who works in the film industry in New York, said she did not mind the new requirement as getting tested for Covid-19 in the US city is easy and there are free services.
"If I lived somewhere else with less testing options and undetermined turnaround times, I'd probably be more annoyed," added Ms Wong, who is returning home on May 31 to renew her US work visa and to see her family after being away for 1½ years.
She noted, though, that the new test requirement did not appear to take into account Singaporeans or PRs who had already been vaccinated, or that individuals may still test positive even though they may no longer be infectious.
She said: "I'm pretty sure I'll test negative because I'm fully vaccinated and I am still cautious. But there is that little bit of a what if."
Mr Samuel Phua, 23, who is coming home next month after graduating from the Sibelius Academy in Finland, is also somewhat anxious about the pre-departure test.
"It is allergy season here, and pollen allergies and Covid-19 have symptoms that are quite similar. I got myself tested recently and my results were negative, but there's always that sliver of doubt and worry that the next one may be positive."
But Mr Phua also said that the new requirement is an important step towards ensuring the safety of Singaporeans both abroad and back home.
Protecting front-liners
Dr Ling Li Min, an infectious disease physician from Rophi Clinic, said the decision to require citizens and PRs to take pre-departure tests before they are allowed entry would have been a difficult one for the authorities to make.
Limited access to swab testing facilities in some countries means that Singaporeans living in places where Covid-19 is raging may not be able to return home.
But with the recent spate of unlinked community cases, Dr Ling said, the authorities now have several fires to fight and the new testing requirement will help to minimise the risk of the virus spreading in Singapore.
This is especially in the light of the fact that the Changi Airport cluster - Singapore's largest active cluster with more than 100 cases - was traced to staff interactions with a family who flew in from South Asia.
While Dr Ling acknowledged that PCR tests may not pick up every single case, she said the mandatory pre-departure tests will at least help to identify those who are infectious and prevent the virus from spreading onboard flights into Singapore.
She added: "It is evident that a key vulnerability exists from when passengers disembark until they are taken to their stay-home notice facility. This measure would further reduce the potential exposure to the virus for that part of the journey."
Professor Paul Tambyah, deputy director of the National University of Singapore (NUS) Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine's Infectious Diseases Translational Research Programme, also said the new measure would protect Changi Airport staff.
"If this screening reduces the number of infected people passing through the airport even by a small proportion, it might reduce the risk to staff - in particular to those who, for some reason or another, cannot take the vaccines," he said.
Asked if the authorities should also extend the pre-departure test requirement to Singaporeans and PRs returning from lower-risk places, Prof Tambyah said it would be logical to mandate the test for everyone.
"Taiwan and Vietnam were previously considered low-risk places, as was the state of Victoria in Australia. These classifications can change rapidly," he added.
The new measure would protect Changi Airport staff, says Professor Paul Tambyah. ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG
Not straightforward
Professor Teo Yik Ying, dean of NUS' Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, said implementing the new requirement may be more challenging than anticipated.
Echoing a point made by Prof Tambyah, Prof Teo said not every jurisdiction will have commercial PCR testing capacity that is accredited and trustworthy.
Hence, there is a need to ensure that Singaporeans and PRs who intend to travel to Singapore are able to access proper testing.
Otherwise, the testing requirement could be additional logistical hurdles for those returning as they would have to transit in cities where these tests are available, Prof Teo said.
He added: "It will not be useful if returning travellers simply pay for a substandard test or a forged negative PCR test certificate."
There is also the issue of the Government's responsibility towards citizens who test positive and cannot return home on a commercial flight.
MOH said travellers who test positive on their pre-departure test should seek medical care and ensure that they have fully recovered and are non-infectious before travelling to Singapore.
Singaporeans who test positive for Covid-19 while overseas and require urgent medical care can still return home via a medevac flight or any other equivalent form of conveyance.
Singapore Management University assistant professor of law Benjamin Joshua Ong noted that Article 13(1) of the Singapore Constitution states that no citizen of Singapore shall be "banished or excluded" from Singapore.
The courts have not ruled on the precise meaning of the words "banished" or "excluded", he said.
"It is possible that those words mean that anything preventing a citizen of Singapore from travelling to Singapore would be unconstitutional. On the other hand, a court might also hold that it is acceptable for certain requirements to be imposed on citizens before they can return...
"I think it is at least arguable that, if the restrictions are too onerous, then those restrictions would in substance amount to banishment or exclusion," he added.
Prof Ong said he has written to MOH for more information about the precise legal basis for the new pre-departure test requirement.
He also suggested that exceptions be allowed, citing a hypothetical case of a Singaporean abroad whose overseas visa or work permit may be expiring but cannot get access to a Covid-19 test in time to return home, putting him at risk of overstaying.
However, SMU law don Eugene Tan said that while at first glance it might appear that the pre-departure test requirement for Singaporeans is in breach of Article 13(1), this is not the case.
“While Article 13(1) is not explicitly subjected to any derogations or restrictions, a citizen who is not in Singapore voluntarily cannot be said to be banished or excluded,” Associate Professor Tan said.
Instead, the testing requirement only means that a citizen will not be allowed to board a flight or ferry to Singapore unless he has a negative Covid-19 test result. If the citizen does somehow make the journey to Singapore, he will unlikely be denied entry, Prof Tan added.
“In other words, the pre-departure test requirement imposes a duty on the flight or ferry operator to ensure that all passengers travelling to Singapore have the necessary negative test results based on their travel histories. The constitutional guarantee provided by Article 13(1) is in no way under threat.”
Travellers should ensure that they have fully recovered and are non-infectious before travelling to Singapore. ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG
Prof Tambyah said there seems to be a reluctance to ban flights and replace them with evacuation flights like what was done with Wuhan at the start of the pandemic.
Hence, the new measure is a logical option despite its limitations.
Prof Teo said he believes that the Singapore Government will not leave any citizen in the lurch during a medical emergency, but stressed that individuals also need to bear responsibility should they choose to travel out of Singapore while the pandemic is still raging globally.
He added: "This is really a reminder to Singaporeans and PRs that they should avoid unnecessary travel out of Singapore during this period, and if they choose to do so, to ensure they have the necessary insurance coverage for Covid-19 medical evacuation if infected."
KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian government said on Sunday (May 30) that all malls will have to be shut, while 17 essential service sectors will be allowed to operate during the impending two-week "total lockdown".
These sectors include healthcare, telecommunications and media, food and beverage, utilities as well as banking.
The government will also allow companies under 12 manufacturing sectors to continue operating, such as food and drink manufacturing, medical devices, textiles for producing personal protection equipment as well as oil and gas. They will need to operate at 60 per cent capacity.
Malaysian Senior Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob. (File photo: Bernama)
In a press conference, Senior Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said: "We hope the manufacturing sector will follow the government's orders, because we have given the condition that only 60 per cent could work."
"But I've read social media posts and found employers who forced their employees to exceed the 60 per cent capacity," he added. Mr Ismail Sabri said that employees could report such breaches to the human resource ministry and the police.
Shopping malls will need to close, except supermarkets and premises dealing in food and beverage and basic necessities, the minister added.
Only two people from each household would be allowed to go out to buy essentials or for medical services, with movement limited to a 10km radius.
A statement by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry also said: "The manufacturing and manufacturing related services sectors that are allowed to operate is to ensure minimal disruption to the supply chain of critical parts, components and finished products."
"This is essential to support the continued operations of critical infrastructures and front-liners such as security, healthcare systems, information and communications and as well as ensure adequate supply of basic necessities for the Rakyat (people)."
The Sunday announcement came after the Prime Minister's Office announced on Friday that Malaysia would be undergoing a "total lockdown" from Jun 1 to Jun 14.
Malaysia's COVID-19 numbers have continued to surge, with a record 9,020 new cases and 98 deaths on Saturday. On Sunday, there were 6,999 new cases. There are now more than 560,000 cases nationwide.
Putrajaya has assured people that there would be sufficient food stocks to last throughout Phase 1 of the total lockdown. However, there have been reports of lines of people flocking to buy necessities and goods in anticipation of Tuesday.
During the same press conference on Sunday, health ministry director-general Noor Hisham Abdullah warned that a daily increase of 1,000 to 2,000 new cases was not impossible, and that the high number of deaths, such as 98 fatalities recorded on Saturday, might continue and even rise.
"The Health Ministry has warned that a situation might arise where doctors might have to make the difficult choice, to give priority for intensive-care unit (ICU) beds to patients with higher recovery potential, than those with poor prognosis."
Malaysia health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah. (Photo: Bernama)
Dr Noor Hisham outlined five actions that the Health Ministry would take during the two-week lockdown, including allowing breathing space for healthcare personnel and hospitals to reassess their equipment and speeding up the vaccination process.
Healthcare personnel would also do targeted screenings in the field using the Rapid Test Kit-Antigen (RTK-Ag) detection method for COVID-19, he said.
MORE VACCINATION CENTRES PLANNED, PRIVATE CLINICS TO ADMINISTER JABS
Earlier on Sunday, Minister for Science, Technology and Innovation Khairy Jamaluddin said in a press conference that more vaccination centres will be opened in the coming month to speed up the vaccination process.
The first among these will be five mega vaccination centres around the Klang Valley. “Three will be in Selangor and two will be set up in Kuala Lumpur," he said, adding that the set up would begin on Jun 7.
FILE PHOTO: People receive AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination centre in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia May 5, 2021. REUTERS/Lim Huey Teng
Mr Khairy, who is also the coordinating minister for the COVID-19 Immunisation Taskforce said 1,000 private general practitioner (GP) clinics will be joining the National COVID-19 Immunisation Program by Jun 30.
He added that 500 of these clinics will begin administering vaccines starting Jun 15.
"I estimate that GPs and private hospital vaccination centres can contribute and administer 40,000 doses in a day, and 400,000 doses (in total) by Jun 30” he said, adding that this would be subject to the supply of the vaccines.
Explaining that there were currently 2,500 GP clinics registered under the immunisation program, Mr Khairy said the government will be paying the private practices to administer the vaccines.
Besides that Mr Khairy also shared that Malaysia will officially start rolling out drive-through vaccinations for the public after a successful pilot project in a university in Kota Baru, Kelantan .
“We did it in Universiti Sains Malaysia in Kubang Kerian and it was successful. We will now allow other states to start this for the public too," said the minister.
Prior to the total lockdown, the government had begun tightening restrictions under a nationwide movement control order, dubbed "MCO 3.0" which started on May 12 and will last until Jun 7.
Among the restrictions under MCO 3.0 include 80 per cent of public sector employees needing to work from home, and 40 per cent for the private sector. Businesses can only operate from 8am until 8pm daily.
KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian government said on Sunday (May 30) that all malls will have to be shut, while 17 essential service sectors will be allowed to operate during the impending two-week "total lockdown".
These sectors include healthcare, telecommunications and media, food and beverage, utilities as well as banking.
The government will also allow companies under 12 manufacturing sectors to continue operating, such as food and drink manufacturing, medical devices, textiles for producing personal protection equipment as well as oil and gas. They will need to operate at 60 per cent capacity.
Malaysian Senior Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob. (File photo: Bernama)
In a press conference, Senior Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said: "We hope the manufacturing sector will follow the government's orders, because we have given the condition that only 60 per cent could work."
"But I've read social media posts and found employers who forced their employees to exceed the 60 per cent capacity," he added. Mr Ismail Sabri said that employees could report such breaches to the human resource ministry and the police.
Shopping malls will need to close, except supermarkets and premises dealing in food and beverage and basic necessities, the minister added.
A statement by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry also said: "The manufacturing and manufacturing related services sectors that are allowed to operate is to ensure minimal disruption to the supply chain of critical parts, components and finished products."
"This is essential to support the continued operations of critical infrastructures and front-liners such as security, healthcare systems, information and communications and as well as ensure adequate supply of basic necessities for the Rakyat (people)."
The Sunday announcement came after the Prime Minister's Office announced on Friday that Malaysia would be undergoing a "total lockdown" from Jun 1 to Jun 14.
Malaysia's COVID-19 numbers have continued to surge, with a record 9,020 new cases and 98 deaths on Saturday. On Sunday, there were 6,999 new cases. There are now more than 560,000 cases nationwide.
Putrajaya has assured people that there would be sufficient food stocks to last throughout Phase 1 of the total lockdown. However, there have been reports of lines of people flocking to buy necessities and goods in anticipation of Tuesday.
MORE VACCINATION CENTRES PLANNED, PRIVATE CLINICS TO ADMINISTER JABS
Earlier on Sunday, Minister for Science, Technology and Innovation Khairy Jamaluddin said in a press conference that more vaccination centres will be opened in the coming month to speed up the vaccination process.
The first among these will be five mega vaccination centres around the Klang Valley. “Three will be in Selangor and two will be set up in Kuala Lumpur," he said, adding that the set up would begin on Jun 7.
FILE PHOTO: People receive AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination centre in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia May 5, 2021. REUTERS/Lim Huey Teng
Mr Khairy, who is also the coordinating minister for the COVID-19 Immunisation Taskforce said 1,000 private general practitioner (GP) clinics will be joining the National COVID-19 Immunisation Program by Jun 30.
He added that 500 of these clinics will begin administering vaccines starting Jun 15.
"I estimate that GPs and private hospital vaccination centres can contribute and administer 40,000 doses in a day, and 400,000 doses (in total) by Jun 30” he said, adding that this would be subject to the supply of the vaccines.
Explaining that there were currently 2,500 GP clinics registered under the immunisation program, Mr Khairy said the government will be paying the private practices to administer the vaccines.
Besides that Mr Khairy also shared that Malaysia will officially start rolling out drive-through vaccinations for the public after a successful pilot project in a university in Kota Baru, Kelantan .
“We did it in Universiti Sains Malaysia in Kubang Kerian and it was successful. We will now allow other states to start this for the public too," said the minister.
Prior to the total lockdown, the government had begun tightening restrictions under a nationwide movement control order, dubbed "MCO 3.0" which started on May 12 and will last until Jun 7.
Among the restrictions under MCO 3.0 include 80 per cent of public sector employees needing to work from home, and 40 per cent for the private sector. Businesses can only operate from 8am until 8pm daily.
TAIPEI: Taiwan has not given up hope of eventually getting COVID-19 vaccines from Germany's BioNTech, Health Minister Chen Shih-chung said on Sunday (May 30), a deal that Taipei's government has blamed China for not being able to complete.
After recording just a handful of daily infections for months, Taiwan is dealing with relatively large numbers of community transmissions, though infection rates are starting to fall.
It has only vaccinated around 1 per cent of its more than 23 million people but has almost 30 million shots on order, from AstraZeneca, Moderna and two domestic firms.
The Chinese-claimed island has blamed Beijing for nixing a deal earlier this year for BioNTech vaccines, which China denies.
Chen told reporters that although talks for that shot had "somewhat hit the rocks", Taiwan "has not completely given up hope" of obtaining them.
Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group Co has a contract with BioNTech to sell the vaccines in Greater China, including to Taiwan, but Taiwan's government says it will only deal with Germany's BioNTech directly and does not trust vaccines from China.
Outside of Greater China, BioNTech has partnered with Pfizer.
Chen said that in late January, the COVAX vaccine-sharing scheme for lower-income countries had told Taiwan it could get shots from Pfizer, but on May 3 COVAX informed the government that would not be possible.
Taiwan is under its second-highest level of curbs to stop the spread of infections, including limiting personal gatherings and closing entertainment venues.
Chen said the task was to ensure those measures were being properly enforced, adding, "At present there are no plans or intentions for a lockdown."
The government has come under fire from opposition parties for delays in testing and reporting positive cases, but Chen said that was now improving.
Taiwan reported 355 domestic COVID-19 cases on Sunday, down from 486 on Saturday. Total daily cases peaked on May 17 and have been falling since Friday.
Taiwan has reported 8,160 infections since the pandemic began, including 110 deaths.
Authorities in Vietnam have detected a new coronavirus variant that is a combination of the Indian and UK Covid-19 variants and spreads quickly by air, the health minister said on Saturday.
After successfully containing the virus for most of last year, Vietnam is grappling with a rise in infections since late April that accounts for more than half of the total 6,856 registered cases. So far, there have been 47 deaths.
"Vietnam has uncovered a new Covid-19 variant combining characteristics of the two existing variants first found in India and the UK," Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long said, describing it as a hybrid of the two known variants.
"That the new one is an Indian variant with mutations that originally belong to the UK variant is very dangerous," he told a government meeting, a recording of which was obtained by Reuters.
[[nid:527488]]
The Southeast Asian country had previously detected seven virus variants: B.1.222, B.1.619, D614G, B.1.1.7 - known as the UK variant, B.1.351, A.23.1 and B.1.617.2 - the "Indian variant".
Long said Vietnam would soon publish genome data of the newly identified variant, which he said was more transmissible than the previously known types.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified four variants of SARS-CoV-2 of global concern. These include variants that emerged first in India, Britain, South Africa and Brazil.
"At the present time, we have not yet made an assessment of the virus variant reported in Vietnam," Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO Technical Lead for Covid-19, said in an emailed statement. "Our country office is working with the Ministry of Health in Vietnam and we expect more information soon."
[[nid:521516]]
From the WHO's current understanding, the variant detected in Vietnam was the B.1.617.2 variant, more commonly known as the Indian variant, possibly with an additional mutation, she said.
"However we will provide more information as soon as we receive it," Van Kerkhove added.
Long said laboratory cultures of the new variant showed the virus replicated itself very quickly, possibly explaining why so many new cases had appeared in different parts of the country in a short period of time.
The health ministry told the meeting the government was working to secure 10 million vaccine doses under the COVAX cost-sharing scheme, as well as a further 20 million doses of Pfizer's (PFE.N) vaccine and 40 million of Russia's Sputnik V.
The country of about 98 million people has so far received 2.9 million doses and aims to secure 150 million this year.
