Focus Taiwan
Date: 02/04/2020
By: Chen Wei-ting and Ko Lin

Taipei, Feb. 4 (CNA) Taiwan reported Tuesday its 11th case of the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV), confirmed as one of 247 nationals evacuated from the Chinese city of Wuhan the previous day.

Speaking at a press event, Health and Welfare Minister Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) said the news of another confirmed case was not entirely unexpected.

The government will do everything to help people get back to their normal lives, Chen said.

According to the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC), the latest victim is one of three who displayed symptoms of the novel coronavirus on arriving at Taoyuan International Airport late Monday on a China Eastern Airlines charter flight.    [FULL  STORY]

ON ALERT: The CECC has designated China’s Zhejiang Province a secondary epidemic area, as 829 coronavirus infections were confirmed there as of Monday

Taipei Times
Date: Feb 05, 2020
By: Lee I-chia  /  Staff reporter

Due to the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak in China, the Central Epidemic

Command Center (CECC) yesterday announced that foreign nationals who have visited China within the previous two weeks would be denied entry into Taiwan starting on Friday, adding that it has also listed China’s Zhejiang Province as a secondary epidemic area.

Starting on Friday, foreign nationals who have visited or resided in China — excluding Hong Kong and Macau — within the previous 14 days would be prohibited from entering Taiwan, Department of International Cooperation and Economic Affairs Director-General Phoebe Yeh (葉非比) told a CECC news conference.

The restriction includes those who are eligible for visa-free treatment, landing visas and e-visas, as well as those who have valid visas, she said.    [FULL  STORY]

Radiio Taiwan Inernational
Date: 03 February, 2020
By: Natalie Tso

The news has been saturated with coverage of the coronavirus outbreak from Wuhan, China. As people return to work after the Lunar New Year holiday, many are worried that the disease could spread through Taiwan. Let’s take a look at what workplaces are doing to alleviate people’s anxieties.

Disinfecting hands, taking temperatures, and providing free masks. These are the precautions that workplaces are taking as people return to their jobs after the Lunar New Year holiday.

Online job service General Manager Liu Mei-kuei said that many managers went to work early to disinfect and to show employees they are serious about protecting them from the virus. Many companies have cancelled meetings and back-to-work prayers to prevent the spread of the virus. People participating in the ceremonies wear face masks.

Most people on the Taipei metro are also wearing face masks. And metro and Maokong Gondola employees have been required to wear them since January 24. They are also disinfecting ticket machines and handrails every 8 hours.    [FULL  STORY]

The News Lens
Date: 2020/01/31
By: Jeremy Van der Haegen

Critics pointed out that Taiwan is being excluded by a UN civil aviation agency from important air safety information. The organization responded by mass blocking them.

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a United Nations agency overseeing international air transport, continues to exclude Taiwan from its coronavirus cooperation. With over 7,700 reported cases worldwide and likely more to follow, Taiwan’s 23.8 million population and its role as an international air traffic hub have been neglected, as the country has not been part of ICAO since 2013. 

As journalists and scholars took to social media to confront the organization, ICAO responded by blocking critical voices on Twitter. 

The uproar started a week ago after Jessica Drun, a non-resident fellow at Washington-based think tank Project2049, launched the following tweet:     [FULL  STORY]

Experts say carriers may continue to spread Wuhan coronavirus even after recovering, call for immediate development of vaccine

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/02/03
By: Sophia Yang, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Academia Sinica, Taiwan's top research institution, on Monday (Feb. 3) warned that the Wuhan coronavirus could easily make a strong comeback next year even if it temporarily disappears, citing the virus' unique nature.

Leading Academia Sinica research fellow Hsieh Shie-liang (謝世良) told UDN that the Wuhan coronavirus has three features: it is an RNA virus that mutates easily, it is more contagious than SARS, and it can spread from an asymptomatic person. This means that even someone who has recovered from the virus can transmit it, making it more difficult to curb its spread.

As a result, Hsieh said it is possible that the virus could stay dormant in the body after recovery and come back to haunt the host in winter or when their immune system is weakened. He said he imagines that the nature of the virus would make it a common infectious, influenza-like illness.

"The novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) is sparking a larger epidemic than SARS, though it is less deadly," he said, adding that the aforementioned three factors would make the virus "more difficult to deal with and prevent."    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 02/03/2020

Taipei, Feb. 3 (CNA) More than 200 Taiwanese nationals arrived at Taoyuan International Airport from Wuhan at around 11:40 p.m. Monday in the first evacuation of Taiwanese from the city at the center of a serious coronavirus epidemic.

The passengers, mostly businesspeople who had been stuck in Wuhan after the city was sealed off to contain the spread of the virus, arrived on a charter flight flown by China Eastern Airlines.

The charter flight had previously been scheduled to depart from Wuhan Tienhe International Airport at around 6:50 p.m., but was delayed to around 9:40 p.m. due to the cumbersome process of checking each person's personal information, local media reported.

After arriving at the Taoyuan Airport, the evacuees will be examined in a provisional facility set up on the airport's aircraft maintenance area to determine if they have any symptoms of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV), according to Taiwan's Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
[FULL  STORY]

ALLOCATION: Effective Thursday, masks will be sold at 6,505 contracted pharmacies across the nation, and each person can buy only two masks every seven days

Taipei Times
Date: Feb 04, 2020
By: Lee I-chia, Liang Hsiao Tung and Lin Liang-sheng  /  Staff reporters

The Executive Yuan last night announced new measures to regulate purchases of masks, including

requiring people to present their health insurance cards to purchase them at pharmacies.

The decision was made during a meeting presided over by Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌), Exectuive Yuan officials said.

Effective Thursday, people will have to present their National Health Insurance (NHI) cards when purchasing masks at 6,505 contracted pharmacies across the nation, they said.

Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the Central Epidemic Command Center, told a press conference at 9pm that starting today, convenience stores would stop selling masks.    [FULL  STORY]

T&he Straits Times
Date: 3 Feb 2020
By:  Steve Wright

"Considering mass gatherings like Taipei Game Show increase the chance of cluster infections, the organizing committee has decided to steer away from such unthinkable risks."

The Taipei Game Show has been postponed because of the Coronavirus, organisers have advised (via VG24/7).

“We are deeply sorry to announce the different decision from our committee,” a spokesperson told the outlet. “2020 Taipei Game Show was originally scheduled to take place on Feb 6 – Feb 9. However, due to the serious outbreak of Wuhan coronavirus, we have decided to postpone the event to this summer.”    [FULL  STORY]

Daily8 Mail
Date: 2 February 2020
By: AFP

The US State Department has criticized an "outrageous" decision by a UN aviation body to block Twitter followers who asked why it refused to work with Taiwan.

While the spread of novel coronavirus in central China has sparked alarm throughout Asia, it has also highlighted the self-ruled island's increased isolation from global bodies under pressure from Beijing.

Last month the Twitter account of the Montreal-based International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) — which does not deal with Taipei directly and only recognizes Beijing — blocked users who suggested it should work with Taiwan.

The state department Saturday called the ICAO's decision to block users, including Taiwan-China academics and analysts, "outrageous, unacceptable, and not befitting of a UN organization."
[FULL  STORY]

Ministry of Education announces winter break extension to prevent spread of coronavirus

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/02/02
By: Ching-Tse Cheng, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Refusing to risk the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) spreading on school campuses, Taiwanese officials announced Sunday (Feb. 2) that all primary and secondary schools will extend their winter break to Feb. 25.

According to CNA, representatives of Taiwan's Centers for Disease Control (CDC) met with medical experts on Sunday to determine whether the government should postpone the back-to-school day, which was originally scheduled for Feb. 15. During a press conference immediately following the meeting, the CDC issued the recommendation that schools postpone classes to prevent students from contracting the Wuhan virus.

Minister of Education Pan Wen-chung (潘文忠) affirmed the CDC's suggestion and announced that all primary and secondary schools in the country will extend their winter break and push the first day of spring semester back to Feb. 25. He explained that the missed classes will be made up at the end of the semester, making the first day of summer vacation July 15, reported UDN.

Pan added that major national exams, such as the Comprehensive Assessment Program for Junior High School Students and the College Entrance Examination, will proceed as scheduled but that their scope might differ due to all the missed classes. He pointed out that parents with children 12 and under can apply for special leave and that companies ought not to penalize them for absences nor deduct their attendance bonus.    [FULL  STORY]