Taiwan raise COVID alert islandwide, but gets vaccine boost

A medical worker guides people on how to get a rapid test following a surge of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) infections in Taipei, Taiwan, May 19, 2021. REUTERS/Ann Wang

TAIPEI (Reuters) -Taiwan raised its COVID-19 alert level for the whole island on Wednesday as domestic cases continued to rise, but will get 400,000 more AstraZeneca Plc COVID-19 vaccine doses from the COVAX global sharing programme.

Taiwan has reported more than 1,000 new infections during the past week or so, leading to new curbs in the capital, Taipei, and shocking a population that had become accustomed to life carrying on almost normally.