TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — With the current COVID-19 surge in Taiwan showing no sign of ending soon, local governments have been issuing measures to limit outbreaks at long-term care and retirement homes, reports said Thursday (June 3).

In order to prepare for mass vaccinations, Taoyuan City Mayor Cheng Wen-tsang (鄭文燦) ordered the drawing up of personnel lists for all of the care institutions in the northern Taiwanese city, UDN reported.

If staff members need to visit a hospital, they will have to take a PCR test first in order to reduce the burden on medical personnel, he said. They should also self-monitor their health, measure their temperature regularly, disinfect their environment, and wear a mask during work.

All the social institutions in Taoyuan counted a combined 9,000 people, including both staff and residents, according to the UDN report.

The mayor also paid attention to other potential sources of COVID clusters, including dormitories for foreign workers. Cheng said he wanted karaoke events inside dormitories to stop, while meals and baths should be scheduled to separate people as much as possible. In addition, he also called on workers to stay inside as much as possible.

Student dormitories were another area of concern, since despite the emergence of distance learning, foreign students, as well as local ones, are still staying inside, the mayor said. He announced he would send city government teams to help schools improve infection prevention measures at the dorms.