Focus Taiwan
Date: 04/17/2020
By: William Yen

Taipei, April 17 (CNA) Medical face masks will no longer be delivered to National Health Insurance Administration-contracted pharmacies or local government health centers on Sundays, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said Friday.

The decision was made to give logistics personnel, pharmacists, and health center staff a day off after preparing and organizing masks for long lines of people throughout the week, the CECC said in a statement that day.

Ever since Taiwan's mask rationing program started on Jan. 31, pharmacy operators have been working every day to make sure the public can purchase masks, Health Minister Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who also heads the CECC, told reporters at a daily briefing in Taipei.

"Everyone has two days off a week, but pharmacists do not," Chen said. "We ask the public to be understanding if they want a rest on Sundays."    [FULL  STORY]