Focus Taiwan
Date: 03/03/2020
By: Yu Hsiao-han and Matthew Mazzetta

Taipei, March 3 (CNA) Travelers entering Taiwan from locations subject to mandatory home quarantine regulations from March 4 will be required to use a new "epidemic prevention transport service" instead of public transportation, with fines of between NT$100,000 (US$3,334) and NT$1 million set to take effect March 11 for violators.

In a Facebook post Monday, Transportation Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said the service is aimed at accommodating the roughly 1,000 travelers arriving daily from China, Hong Kong, Macau, South Korea, Italy and Iran, who are required to undergo 14-day home quarantine.

Subtracting travelers who are picked up by family members or friends, around 600 people per day require transportation to their home quarantine locations, the vast majority of whom arrive at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Lin said.

At a Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) press conference on Tuesday, Yeh Hsieh-lung (葉協隆), director of the Department of Aviation and Navigation, explained that the service will be launched on Wednesday, and that following a one-week trial period, travelers who take public transportation to their quarantine locations will face fines of NT$100,000-NT$1 million.
[FULL  STORY]

EXPANDING CLUSTER: The latest patient had visited a relative in a ward where the 34th case had been hospitalized, making her the seventh in that cluster

Taipei Times
Date: Mar 04, 2020
By: Lee I-chia  /  Staff reporter

The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday announced the nation’s 42nd

confirmed case of COVID-19, a woman in her 50s related to a patient who had been in the same hospital ward as an earlier case.

The new case is associated with the nation’s 34th case — a woman in her 50s who was confirmed to be infected with the coronavirus after being hospitalized for about two weeks — as they had both been in the same hospital ward, but not the same room, said Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center.

The 42nd case is a relative of a patient in another room who had not recently traveled overseas, he said, adding that she sought treatment at a clinic for coughing and full-body fatigue on Feb. 23.

After an extended contact investigation for the 34th case, which included people who were in the same hospital ward when she was hospitalized, the 42nd case was reported as a suspected infection and tested positive for COVID-19 yesterday, he said.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 02 March, 2020
By: Natalie Tso

Experts are suggesting that people keep a distance of one meter from each other and companies should stagger working hours. Those suggestions were proposed at a COVID-19 seminar held by National Taiwan University’s College of Public Health on Monday.

The dean of the college, Chan Chang-Chuan says COVID-19 has already spread to 63 countries. Taiwan also has cases of community transmission and hospital-acquired infections. He said COVID-19 is going to have a greater impact than SARS and that people should be very careful.    [FULL  STORY]

The Japan Times
Date: Mar 2, 2020
By: Victor Pu

TAIPEI – The novel strain of coronavirus that originated in Wuhan, China has spread to almost 30 countries, including regional neighbors like South Korea, Japan and Taiwan, and countries as far away as the United States, Canada, and Brazil. As of Monday, more than 88,000 cases have been confirmed worldwide, and the death toll has surpassed 3,000, mostly in China. The epicenter of the virus crisis, China, has been suffering socially and economically not only on account of the virus, but also because of the Chinese government’s problematic policies.

The Chinese government has been working to tackle the COVID-19 outbreak by using multiple measures to contain the spread of the virus as well as information about the outbreak. Most famously, the government imposed an extreme quarantine in Wuhan on Jan. 23, which is still in place. Many cities in Hubei province and elsewhere in China have also implemented lockdowns or restrictions while cases of infection continue to increase.

Besides these measures in the physical world, the Chinese government has attempted to quarantine discussion of the epidemic in the realm of public opinion. From the first appearance of the new virus last December to the lockdown of massive cities in mid-January, the Chinese authorities chose to restrict public access to the information about the epidemic by silencing people, most famously the whistleblower Dr. Li Wenliang.

In the early stages of the outbreak, the Chinese government issued a statement asserting that “the disease is preventable and controllable,” and announcements sent by Chinese officials to World Health Organization office in Beijing claimed that there was no evidence of the disease being transmitted between humans.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan is set to produce 8.2 million face masks a day, which will reach 10 million soon

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/03/02
By: Huang Tzu-ti, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Adults in Taiwan will be able to purchase three surgical masks a week, increased from two currently, from Thursday (March 5) onward, according to the country’s health authorities.

A rationing scheme implemented last month restricts adults to two face masks a week by presenting their IDs at designated pharmacies and health centers. With the boost in mask manufacturing capacity, adults and children (age 13 and younger) will be allowed to buy three and five masks a week, respectively.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 03/02/2020
By: Han Ting-ting and Ko Lin

Taipei, March 2 (CNA) Taiwan's non-profit Development Center for Biotechnology (DCB) announced Monday that it has synthesized favilavir, an experimental medication being used in other countries as an investigational therapy to combat the COVID-19 coronavirus.

The center will work closely with local biopharmaceutical companies certified for current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) to provide enough favilavir for patient care in Taiwan, the DCB said.

According to Chuang Shih-hsien (莊士賢), an executive with the DCB, the anti-viral drug was first developed by Fujifilm Toyama Chemical Co. and approved for the Japanese market in March 2014.

The medicine was widely used to treat patients who showed resistance to Tamiflu and Relenza, both of which are medications used to treat and prevent influenza caused by influenza A and B viruses, Chuang said.   [FULL  STORY]

RATIONING: From Thursday, people can buy three adult masks and five children’s masks every seven days, as domestic production ramps up to meet demand

Taipei Times
Date: Mar 03, 2020
By: Lee I-chia  /  Staff reporter

The Central Epidemic Control Center (CECC) yesterday confirmed a new case of COVID-19

and announced that people would be allowed to buy more masks per week at pharmacies from Thursday.

Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), head of the center, said the latest confirmed case — the nation’s 41st — is a woman in her 20s, who is the daughter of the 34th case announced on Friday.

“The woman visited her mother many times and took care of her while she was hospitalized,” he said. “Her first test for COVID-19 was negative, but her second test was positive.”

The 34th case was hospitalized for hypoglycemia on Feb. 14 and was reported as a suspected COVID-19 case on Wednesday last week.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwanese government working to push for lift of ban

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/03/01
By: Huang Tzu-ti, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan raised its travel advisory for Jamaica on Saturday (Feb. 29) after that country announced it would deny entry to Taiwanese visitors due to the coronavirus outbreak.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), the Caribbean island nation has imposed travel bans for travelers from Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, Macau, Italy, South Korea, Iran, and Singapore, reported CNA. In response to the measure, MOFA raised its travel alert for Jamaica to orange, urging citizens to avoid unnecessary travel to the country.

Taiwanese citizens in Jamaica are advised to contact Taiwan’s embassy in Saint Kitts and Nevis, an island nation in the West Indies, if they need help. The number is (1-869) 662-4792.
[FULL  STORY]

Phnom Penh Post
Date: 01 March 2020

Taiwan’s Cabinet passed a NT$60 billion ($1.98 billion) budget on Thursday for relief measures to cushion the blow of the coronavirus outbreak on businesses, medical personnel and patients.

The fund – half from last year’s budget surplus and half national debt – was pooled from 11 government ministries and councils, and is intended to last until June 2021.

The measures, passed by Taiwan’s legislature in an 18-article Bill on Wednesday, will give subsidies to those working on the front line of outbreak prevention, including medical personnel, and provide additional compensation should their work result in illnesses or death.

“Premier Su Tseng-chang has asked the responsible departments to finish making the sub-laws, and for the money to be spent wisely,” said Executive Yuan spokesman Kolas Yotaka on Thursday.    [FULL  STORY]

Taoyuan International Airport served about 34,000 passengers today, compared to 119,000 on same day last year

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/03/01
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taoyuan International Airport served only about 20 – 30 percent of the number of passengers during the 228 holiday compared to the same period last year, affecting not only airlines but also duty-free stores, restaurants, and taxis, according to a CNA report released today (March 1).

The Border Affairs Corps of the National Immigration Agency (NIA) issued a statement that Taoyuan International Airport served about 34,000 passengers today, compared to 119,000 on the same day last year.

The report quoted the NIA as saying that the number of daily passengers the airport has been serving since Feb. 27 ranges between 24,000 and 34,000, which is about 20 – 30 percent of the passenger volume for the same period last year.

Many flights have been cancelled due to fears of the coronavirus, the report said. Quarantine requirements for those arriving in Taiwan from various countries have also put a damper on people's willingness to travel.    [FULL  STORY]