Mask mandate to be lifted in phases: CECCPROTECTION: Daily cases have been declining, albeit at a slow pace, and could fall below 10,000 by December, which could lead to an easing of mask requirements The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday said that the mask mandate would be lifted in phases, as it predicted that daily case counts could fall below 10,000 by December. Case numbers have begun falling, but the pace of decline is slow, CECC head Victor Wang (王必勝) told a regular news conference. If the trend continues, daily cases could drop below 10,000 by December, he added. Minister of Health and Welfare Hsueh Jui-yuan (薛瑞元) has said that once cases fall below that number, COVID-19 would be considered “like the flu.” Asked whether the CECC would downgrade or reclassify COVID-19 as a non-notifiable disease afterBy Yang Yuan-ting and William Hetherington
