As the world continues its battle against the COVID-19 coronavirus, Taiwan late Thursday recorded its 339th case of infection.

To date there have been 34,557 individuals tested by Taiwan’s Center For Disease Control (CDC). Five of these cases have proved fatal. 30,530 other cases have been cleared of carrying the virus.

Globally, infections are fast approaching one million, with almost 46,000 deaths.

Of the 10 cases added to the total by Thursday evening, eight were classified as ‘imported’ with two others having been contracted in Taiwan. Work is already underway to confirm the circumstances of the ‘community transmissions’.

A trickle of individuals continue to arrive in Taiwan from overseas trips or out of a desire to be repatriated. This includes 12 people traveling back to Taiwan from India, via Tokyo.

Anyone arriving in Taiwan from today, April 3rd, with any form of symptom in the past 14 days will be required to be specially monitored at “designated locations” according to the CDC.

In related headlines overnight, Taiwan’s Minister of Health and Welfare has now banned visits to hospitals to see in-patients according to at least one national daily.

On the economic front, Taiwan’s national government is working through the holiday weekend and has enacted a plan to pump NT $150 billion into the economy to help the country’s labor force.

Smaller proposals have been introduced in recent weeks including some at the local level to help alleviate the economic impact felt by citizens.

It is a move aimed at limiting mass lay-offs in similar form to plans adopted in Britain to pay a part of employee salaries. An estimated 1.9 million employees could received up to 40% of their pay packet from government coffers if the plan goes ahead.

Much of the total will go directly to those most affected by the pandemic in areas including the transportation and service sectors, but also including one million self-employed.

Moves to bring the proposals into force are expected to be enacted in the coming days.