CUBA TIGHTENS BORDER CONTROLS AS CORONAVIRUS INFECTIONS REBOUND — Reuters, Wednesday 5 January 2022
HAVANA (Reuters) — Cuba tightened border controls on Wednesday as the Caribbean island nation moved to tamp down a growing wave of coronavirus infections while keeping doors open for its economically vital tourism industry. The country will now require both a negative PCR within 72 hours and proof of vaccination of all visitors. Cuba had previously required only the vaccination card for most travellers. Daily cases hit 967 on Tuesday, up more than tenfold since the weeks before Christmas, when new infections hovered at fewer than 100 per day. However, deaths from the virus have not increased.
Cuba detected its first case of the fast-spreading Omicron variant in early December. At a high-level government meeting, health officials said they expected cases to increase but not deaths, thanks to the country’s unusually high vaccination rate — more than 92% of its population has received at least one shot of its home-grown inoculations, and upwards of 85% with a full course. Cuba has already begun a booster campaign and hoped to cover the entire country with the additional shot by the end of January.
TAIWAN CRACKS DOWN ON PRICE GOUGING AHEAD OF LUNAR NEW YEAR — Taiwan News, 5 January 2022
TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A special government task force is continuing its search for price gouging by food suppliers and restaurant chains in the run-up to the Lunar New Year. A total of 24 restaurants and 17 suppliers have received visits from inspectors. The COVID-19 pandemic is viewed as one of the main reasons for inflation around the world, with Taiwan also seeing price rises for daily necessities and food. International inflationary pressure and adverse weather conditions resulting in shortages were the most mentioned causes forcing businesses to raise prices.