TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A discussion about ending the mask mandate on public transport will have to wait at least until mid-April, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said Tuesday (Feb. 28).

Spokesman Philip Lo (羅一鈞) made the statement after Taiwan recorded two days in a row with fewer than 10,000 new local COVID-19 infections. He cautioned, however, that the figure might surge back up to 20,000 after the end of the current four-day holiday, the Liberty Times reported.

Another factor needing consideration is the end of the mask mandate for schools from March 6 and its impact on the number of new local infections, according to Lo. As a result of recent positive trends, the debate about whether to end the compulsory wearing of masks on buses, trains, and Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) networks could follow in mid-April, he said.

Lo said the decline in local infections during the Feb. 25-28 holiday had been larger than expected, but it would take until Saturday (March 4) to determine whether the level of infections had not been negatively impacted by the holiday period.