Taiwan says too early to talk of lockdown, but 'no optimism' over Covid trends

Tents are set up outside a hospital in Taipei, Taiwan, on June 3,2021. - Bloomberg

TAIPEI (Reuters): Taiwan's health minister said on Thursday (June 3) 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.