TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Following the Central Epidemic Command Center's (CECC) announcement Sunday (May 11) that Taiwan has gone 28 days without reporting a single local transmission of coronavirus (COVID-19), Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) said the island nation is only steps away from a return to normalcy.

In a Facebook post, Su said Taiwan's 28-day streak of zero local cases signified that the country had, for the most part, successfully contained the spread of the infectious disease. He said Taiwanese could expect to return to business as usual in the coming weeks if the trend continues.

Su pointed out that he had met with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) earlier that day to exchange ideas on how the government should ease restrictions imposed during the pandemic and revive the economy. He encouraged people to go outdoors more and resume normal spending given that they follow the CECC's guidelines, reported CNA.

During Sunday's daily press conference, CECC Advisory Specialist Panel Convener Chang Shan-chwen (張上淳) said Taiwan had made it past two 14-day incubation periods — good news from a public health perspective.

Meanwhile, Health Minister and CECC head Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) stressed that the government planned to introduce "safe dining" certifications for restaurants that respect the social distancing rule. He added that hotels and tourist hotspots that implement crowd control would also receive certifications to ensure the safety of visitors, according to Liberty Times.