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.
Photo: Chang Yi-chen, Taipei Times
“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.
They should tell their doctor if they develop symptoms such as a fever, coughing, other respiratory problems, diarrhea, or a loss of the senses of smell or taste, he said.
It would be best if people under self-health management work at home, while students should tell their teachers about their travel history, and healthcare professionals should expand their testing criteria to include people who recently visited crowded sites who have symptoms that cannot be excluded from the possibility of COVID-19 infection, Chen added.
Photo: CNA
However, by “crowded places or activities” the center was not just referring to the 11 tourist spots that it listed in text messages on Saturday reminding the public to avoid crowded places and keep a proper social distance, Chen said.
If people visited other crowded places for a prolonged length of time over the long weekend, they should also practice self-health management, and if they cannot work at home, they should strictly practice the aforementioned measures, as well as social distancing, wearing a mask and frequently washing their hands, he added.
The government cannot provide a comprehensive definition of “crowded places” and it is up to every person to protect themselves, their coworkers and their family when making such decisions, he said.
Employers cannot punish employees who ask for sick leave if their recent travel history could have put them at risk and are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19, he added.
While Chen said he was sorry that some store owners at tourists sites felt the center’s warnings had cost them business, the crowds at such sites had been far worse than the center had anticipated, and the cost to society from cluster infections would be greater than such losses.
The warnings had been necessary, he said.
The CECC would not ban all business activities, but it would adjust policies according to the current situation, with “disease prevention the priority,” he said.
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
Taiwan was ranked the fourth-safest country in the world with a score of 82.9, trailing only Andorra, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in Numbeo’s Safety Index by Country report. Taiwan’s score improved by 0.1 points compared with last year’s mid-year report, which had Taiwan fourth with a score of 82.8. However, both scores were lower than in last year’s first review, when Taiwan scored 83.3, and are a long way from when Taiwan was named the second-safest country in the world in 2021, scoring 84.8. Taiwan ranked higher than Singapore in ninth with a score of 77.4 and Japan in 10th with
SECURITY RISK: If there is a conflict between China and Taiwan, ‘there would likely be significant consequences to global economic and security interests,’ it said China remains the top military and cyber threat to the US and continues to make progress on capabilities to seize Taiwan, a report by US intelligence agencies said on Tuesday. The report provides an overview of the “collective insights” of top US intelligence agencies about the security threats to the US posed by foreign nations and criminal organizations. In its Annual Threat Assessment, the agencies divided threats facing the US into two broad categories, “nonstate transnational criminals and terrorists” and “major state actors,” with China, Russia, Iran and North Korea named. Of those countries, “China presents the most comprehensive and robust military threat
RSS