TAIPEI, Taiwan: Taiwan Premier Su Tseng-chang has said that a recent rise in COVID-19 cases in the country will not affect plans to gradually re-open, as the number of serious illnesses remains low.

Due to strict and early control measures, including an efficient contact and tracing system and the closing of its borders, Taiwan has kept the pandemic under control, unlike many other countries.

While the government has been on alert due to a spike in infections over the past week, in the first quarter of 2022 Taiwan reported 1,266 domestic Covid cases and only one death.

The “new Taiwan model” of combating COVID-19 includes a “normal life, active epidemic prevention and steady opening,” Su told reporters in the southern city of Kaohsiung.

“Although the number of confirmed cases will increase, more than 99.7 percent of them are mild or asymptomatic, so do not worry, we can open up step by step steadily and live a normal life,” he added.

Despite the new cases, the government has not raised its alert level and only tweaked existing rules, as it is confident its adopted measures will be effective and the government remains unconcerned about health facilities being overwhelmed.

Wearing masks has remained mandatory, including when people are outside. Almost 80 percent of the population have had two vaccine shots, and more than 50 percent have had booster shots.

Taiwan is gradually relaxing quarantine rules for all arrivals, with the government having lowered the time to be spent in isolation from 14 days to 10 in March, and hopes to reduce this further in the coming months.

However, those who can enter Taiwan are mainly limited to citizens and residents, and most foreign visitors are still not allowed to enter the country.

Since the pandemic started, Taiwan has reported only some 24,000 COVID-19 cases and 853 deaths.