SELF-MANAGEMENT: The numbers of people at some places were far worse than the center had expected, posing a risk of cluster infections, Chen Shih-chung said

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 07, 2020
By: Lee I-chia / Staff reporter

People who visited crowded areas or activities over the Tomb Sweeping Day long weekend should start practicing 14 days of self-health management, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday.

The large crowds at popular scenic areas and tourist spots over the four-day holiday that ended on Sunday triggered concerns about the risk of COVID-19 transmissions.

“In order to enhance the nation’s disease prevention capacity, we require people to make advance preparations for flexible working hours and working spaces,” said Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center.“People who visited crowded places or activities should wear a mask, avoid unnecessary outings, strictly practice social distancing, avoid going to school or work if they develop any symptoms and seek medical attention or the call the 1922 hotline,” the minister said.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 06 April, 2020
By: Leslie Liao

22Taiwan recently won international praise for donating medical supplies to other countries. The move caught the attention of the world, and people are realizing just how much of a difference the small island country can make.

With many countries struggling to find enough medical supplies to take care of COVID-19 patients, Taiwan has lent a helping hand. People like Swedish Parliamentarian Margareta Cederfelt are taking notice and speaking on Taiwan’s behalf.

“A country with 23 million people has successfully staved off the epidemic. That country is Taiwan. Mr. Prime Minister, are you willing to help Taiwan join the WHO?” Cederfelt asked the Swedish prime minister.

The Swedish prime minister says that he cannot give a concrete answer, but he does agree with Cederfelt that international cooperation is very important.     [FULL  STORY]

CNS News
Date: April 6, 2020
By: Mike Gonzalez

China, where the new coronavirus first emerged, has reacted with the Chinese Communist Party’s trademark mix of obfuscation and truculence throughout the COVID-19 crisis. This week, this potent cocktail was again in evidence in the city of Hong Kong.

Beijing promised that Hong Kong, an international port and British creation that was a crown colony until London ceded it to China in 1997, would enjoy several freedoms for 50 years, including freedom of the press.

But China cried foul when a Hong Kong journalist used that freedom this week.

The journalist asked the assistant director-general of the World Health Organization, Bruce Aylward, to comment on how Taiwan has performed during the coronavirus crisis and whether WHO would reconsider Taiwan’s membership.    [FULL  STORY]

Woman from Taiwan becomes 1st foreigner deported from S. Korea for refusing to pay for quarantine

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/04/06
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A Taiwanese woman on Sunday (April 5) became the first foreigner to be deported from South Korea for refusing to pay for her mandatory 14-day quarantine.

In order to prevent the spread of the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19), South Korea on April 1 imposed a new rule requiring all foreign visitors to undergo a 14-day quarantine. A Taiwanese woman in her 30s was deported to Taiwan at 7:45 p.m. on Sunday because she refused to cooperate with the terms of her quarantine, reported Yonhap News.

According to the report, the woman arrived at South Korea's Incheon Airport for sightseeing on April 2 and agreed to pay the 14-day quarantine fee. However, when she arrived at the designated quarantine facilities the next day, she said she could not afford to pay the bill and asked to check out.

The quarantine fee was based on a two-week stay and amounted to about 1.4 million won (US$1,140). According to South Korea's Ministry of Justice, the woman refused to stay in the quarantine facility because she said she could not afford the expense.    [FULL  STORY]

0Focus Taiwan
Date: 04/06/2020
By: Chen Wei-ting, Fan Cheng-hsiang, Phoenix Hsu and William Yen

Taipei, April 6 (CNA) All vendors and service providers who deal with customers will be required to wear surgical masks, with enforced regulations to be revealed at a later date, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said Monday.

The general principle is to try to adopt social distancing at all times, and to wear masks when such scenarios prove to be difficult, said Health Minister Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who also heads the CECC, in a bid to slow the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus.

The regulations, which will be extended to vendors and all first-line hospitality staff members, will be announced after further meetings have been conducted, he said.

The idea was first brought up Monday by ruling Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chen Ying (陳瑩) at a legislative hearing to review if wearing masks should be mandatory for all hospitality, and food and beverage staff, as it is for all people who work in and use public transport.    [FULL  STORY]

SELF-MANAGEMENT: The numbers of people at some places were far worse than the center had expected, posing a risk of cluster infections, Chen Shih-chung said

Taipei Times
Date:  Apr 07, 2020
By: Lee I-chia / Staff reporter

People who visited crowded areas or activities over the Tomb Sweeping Day long weekend should start practicing 14 days of self-health management, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday.

The large crowds at popular scenic areas and tourist spots over the four-day holiday that ended on Sunday triggered concerns about the risk of COVID-19 transmissions.

“In order to enhance the nation’s disease prevention capacity, we require people to make advance preparations for flexible working hours and working spaces,” said Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center.“People who visited crowded places or activities should wear a mask, avoid unnecessary outings, strictly practice social distancing, avoid going to school or work if they develop any symptoms and seek medical attention or the call the 1922 hotline,” the minister said.    [FULL  STORY]

Maritime Bulletin
Date: April 5, 2020
By: Mikhail Voytenko

Police intercepted two seamen attempting to flee their ship at Keelung Port, Taiwan, on Apr 4. They’ve been returned to the ship, donned in masks and plastic bags or coats. Both runaways of Myanmar nationality wanted to return home, to Myanmar. Seems like a naïve act, but what do we know? Undoubtedly, a lot of dramas and even tragedies, are currently taken place on board of thousands of merchant ships around the world, because of insane virus fight policies. The number of such personal dramas will forever remain unknown, as well as the outcome, except in some cases after they turn into accidents or tragedies. Just imagine a young seaman whose shore leave is long overdue, and who suddenly, lost contact with girlfriend. Or a family man losing his mind out of anxiety, when his family goes off the line for a day or two. Or a young man deprived of woman’ company for months. Situation is becoming almost unbearable if taking into account absolute lack of anything decisive, any timeline or realistic perspective to be relieved anytime soon.    [FULL  STORY]

CNN
Date: April 5, 2020
By: James Griffiths, CNN

Hong Kong (CNN)On January 25, as the world was still waking up to the potential danger of the novel coronavirus spreading rapidly out of central China, two governments recorded four new infections within their territory.

Australia and Taiwan have similar sized populations of about 24 million people, both are islands, allowing strict controls over who crosses their borders, and both have strong trade and transport links with mainland China. Ten weeks on from that date, however, Australia has almost 5,000 confirmed cases, while Taiwan has less than 400.

The question is not what Australia did wrong — 20 countries have more cases than Australia, and seven have more than 10 times as many — but how Taiwan has kept the virus under control when other parts of the world have not.

Hard learned lessons

During the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak of 2003, Taiwan was among the worst-hit territories, along with Hong Kong and southern China. More than 150,000 people were quarantined on the island — 180 kilometers (110 miles) off China's southeastern coast — and 181 people died.

While SARS now pales in comparison to the current crisis, it sent shockwaves through much of Asia and cast a long shadow over how people responded to future outbreaks. This helped many parts of the region react faster to the current coronavirus outbreak and take the danger more seriously than in other parts of the world, both at a governmental and societal level, with border controls and the wearing of face masks quickly becoming routine as early as January in many areas.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/04/05
By:  Central News Agency

Chou Yung-hui (周永暉), director-general of the Tourism Bureau, has been demoted amid a controversy involving a high-ranking bureau official, whose misconduct led to one of his colleagues becoming infected with the COVID-19 coronavirus disease.

Chou will now serve as a counselor at the Ministry of Transportation and Communication (MOTC), MOTC Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) told reporters Sunday.

The controversy involves a high-ranking official at the Tourism Bureau, who asked a staffer working at a Taoyuan International Airport visitor information center to meet and accompany his son, who was returning from the Philippines, while the son was waiting to be picked up by the official, according to the bureau.

The official's son, who is in his 20s, was later confirmed to have contracted COVID-19, which he likely passed on to the staffer while they had coffee together at the airport, according to the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC).    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 04/05/2020
By: Emerson Lim

Taipei, April 5 (CNA) American singer and actress Barbra Streisand on Sunday praised Taiwan's performance in controlling the spread of the new coronavirus outbreak despite the island's geographical proximity to China, where the virus was first detected last year.

In a Twitter post, Streisand said "Taiwan, despite being just 100 miles from mainland China with regular flights to and from Wuhan, has successfully staved off the worst of the coronavirus pandemic."

"The country has so far seen five deaths and just under 350 confirmed cases, and most schools and businesses remain open," she tweeted.

However, as of Sunday afternoon, confirmed new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases had increased to 363, with the number of fatalities remaining at 5.    [FULL  STORY]