The Latest: Taiwan tightens restrictions as cases rise

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwan recorded 267 new cases Wednesday and raised COVID-19 restrictions for the entire island.

Up until now, indoor gatherings of more than five people and outdoor gatherings of more than 10 had been banned in the capital Taipei and neighboring New Taipei city. They're now in force elsewhere on the island.

Taiwan is facing its worst outbreak yet with more than 1,000 confirmed cases since last week.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, Taiwan has largely been able to keep the virus at its borders, but had faced a few outbreaks. Last week, it shut schools, restaurants, gyms and other public venues as it attempts to break the chain of transmission.

The most recent surge is being driven by a variant first discovered in Britain.

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THE VIRUS OUTBREAK:

— Restrictions reimposed as virus resurges in much of Asia

— ‘City in transition’: New York vies to turn page on pandemic

— UAE to offer booster shot to recipients of Sinopharm vaccine

— Many U.S. worker s emerging from the pandemic don’t want to return to the jobs they once had.

— Mexico is mounting a final push to get all of the country’s 3 million school teachers vaccinated so that it can reopen schools, perhaps by June.

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Follow more of AP’s pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic and https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine

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HERE'S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:

BERLIN — Restaurants, theaters, cinemas and sports facilities in Austria reopened Wednesday after more than six months of closure due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Hotels in the Alpine nation are also allowed to receive...