A civic group called for Taiwan to grant amnesty to an estimated 50,000 undocumented workers in the country, citing their fear of reporting COVID-19 symptoms and a workforce shortage.

The Diplomat
Date: February 29, 2020
By: Nick Aspinwall   

Taiwan was urged by a civic organization on Thursday to grant amnesty to undocumented foreign workers after an Indonesian caregiver working illegally became the country’s 32nd patient to contract the novel coronavirus.

The caregiver’s case raised concerns over whether the more than 700,000 Southeast Asian migrant workers in Taiwan – including an estimated 50,000 undocumented workers – are being protected from the outbreak of COVID-19, as the virus is formally known.

Undocumented workers who fear being infected with the coronavirus “are very likely to become a loophole in Taiwan’s virus prevention network,” Global Workers Organization secretary-general Karen Hsu told Taiwan’s state-run Central News Agency (CNA).

“Even if they know they’re infected with the disease, they’ll be afraid to come forward or ask for help, because they don’t want to be deported,” Hsu said.    [FULL  STORY]